Kindred Captives
by Elizabeth Athineu
Summary: Darcy Lewis seemed to have been the perfect hostage to her new captor; a way to torment both Thor and Jane Foster all at once as well as keeping a simpering human at his side. But Darcy has gifts and personal power that even the trickster envies and might just need to utilize to escape his own captivitiy under Thanos!
1. Arrival of the New Enemy

**Chapter 1: Arrival of the New Enemy**

Darcy groaned and muttered angrily to herself as lights flashed overhead. There had been drill after drill since the Tesseract had been brought to the facility along with Dr. Selvig and herself. She had tried to look as pitiful as possible when being separated from Jane's work, but it hadn't worked with Jane, Mr. Fury, or Dr. Selvig at all. According to her two former colleagues Selvig had 'lost' the coin toss and was the one saddled with her company for the time being. Darcy was only usually called upon during the day to run errands and so on, but she still felt terribly overused in so many ways and underappreciated in others. Of course under-appreciation was nothing new to her. Jane had never been shy about being short-tempered and sharp-tongued with her assistant, showing kindness and respect on very few occasions where it suited her to have someone agreeing with her against Selvig's theories. Selvig had been a little easier to get along with given that he didn't have the same capacity for cruel remarks out loud, but he was just as condescending if not more so to the young girl. Darcy had wondered on several occasions if eight college credits were worth this kind of negativity, but decided that it could've been much worse. As she dressed slowly, groggily, she muttered about how worth it this whole fiasco would be when she was finally a Diplomat in the United Nations from her home country to some lovely European ally like Scandinavia or Czechoslovakia. Darcy also realized that she had strange taste in cultures but reminded herself that most people did.

Suddenly the alarm switched from its usual first annoying warning tones to, "_All personnel, this is a code 5, evacuate the premises immediately. This is not a drill. Proceed to your nearest designated exit. Repeat, this is a code 5. This is not a drill_".

Darcy froze for a moment as she shoved a few last minute provisions into her overnight bag. A chill ran through her. This had never happened before. She wondered if this meant that something had happened with the Tesseract and her natural instincts suddenly began to ignite with concern for Selvig. She drew in a deep breath, pulling on a light cotton jacket and hurrying out the door, down several flights of stairs, and past numerous people evacuating upward as she headed towards the lab. She had only seen the lab itself on a few occasions, but the outer area was nothing new. The identification badge she wore around her neck prevented any questions being raised as she hurried forward although at this point Darcy wondered if they would've tried to stop her period in the confusion. As she reached the first set of large steel doors leading into the decontamination area that preceeded two other rooms leading into the lab, the lights flickered off. She froze as a loud explosion filled the area. Darcy felt her heart begin to race as she dropped to her knees and instinctively let out a cry. She stifled it after only a few brief moments and slowly rose. She suddenly noted that an eerie blue glow was coming from the lab, the same shade of blue and the very same cloudy hue that matched the Tesseract itself. Her heart thundered and she feared the worst for Dr. Selvig. The thing was a limitless power source and he had detected radiation from it numerous times. Darcy felt a tingling twinge in her sides as adrenaline filled her. She hurried forward, slamming through the next two sets of doors and she gasped instantly, covering her mouth in horror.

Somekind of explosion had devastated several computer stations and agents had turned their weapons towards a man kneeling several feet away from the unit holding the cube. It was glowing its normal azure, but it somehow seemed fully charged with an otherworldly electricity. She hid behind one of the walls for a moment.

"Sir, put down the spear!" Director Nick Fury suddenly shouted.

Darcy watched as the man, holding a strange scepter made of gold and sporting an odd, oval blue gem close to the very tip. The man looked down at the scepter for a moment as if confused and then delighted. In an instant, he turned and held out the spear towards the research area, firing odd blue energy that blasted into the databases and several of the researchers. Darcy screamed and stood for a moment as she heard agents open fire. Several agents screamed and collapsed with odd, thin blades in their throats or chests. The man fired the weapon again and Darcy dropped to her knees, covering her ears for a moment and closing her eyes as she panted. When she felt the vibrations of the gunfire cease, she slowly looked up. She watched from a kneeling position, having gotten a good look at Dr. Selvig who seemed unscathed, but noting that so many other people were dead. His personal assistant, a woman that Darcy knew only as Ramona, now lay unmoving and bleeding after the attack. Selvig knelt on the ground beside Ramona, clearly assessing that she was beyond his help. Darcy's heart raced furiously and she was beginning to think that she should've gone with direct protocol and evacuated with the other low-level technicians. She suddenly noticed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent known as 'Hawkeye' attacking the man, who seemed to be hopping effortlessly from place to place dispatching attacking the agents. The girl's blood ran cold as the new stranger spoke in a soft, silky, and refined voice that Hawkeye 'had a heart'.

Darcy disagreed with that inwardly and scooted an inch closer as Hawkeye was held firmly in place by the stranger's strength. The man was slight of build, but by no means a scrawny little weakling. She felt all the blood drain from her face as the man pressed the tip of the gold and blue-gem weapon against the agent's chest. A small spume of energy emitted from the gem, passing through the tip of the scepter and sinking gently into the man's chest. Hawkeye grunted in what Darcy assumed was pain as the bluish energy filled him, travelling up the major veins and carotid arteries in his neck until the man's eyes turned wide and black and then a disturbing milky white. The stranger stared at him for a moment, searching his eyes for success which Darcy assumed meant he had just either enslaved or killed Hawkeye with one movement. The stranger grinned brightly as Hawkeye put his gun back in its holster and straightened up proudly in front of the stranger who grinned and practically broke into giddy chortling at this. He quickly turned and made his way to two other agents as Director Fury snatched the glowing Tesseract from the unit and slipped it back in his briefcase. Darcy watched the as Fury and the stranger addressed one another; the director wanted to avoid anything messier, but the stranger assured him that he had come too far for anything else. Darcy suddenly remembered that the Tesseract was a gateway to another realm which meant this man was likely from another planet or, more curiously, another dimension.

"I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose," the stranger said. Darcy couldn't help but feel a little strange at seeing how wonderfully formed his features were from his polished, pale cheekbones and hands to the delightful green glow of his eyes.

Selvig announced from not far away that he recognized the name Loki as being the brother of Thor. Anger fully burned in the stranger's eyes at the mention of his brother. He and Fury exchanged a few more words before Loki firmly pressed the tip of the weapon into Selvig's chest and forced in another surge of energy. Darcy's heart skipped a beat as she thought about Thor returning. Then it occurred to her that his brother, obviously this stranger standing before her right now, had tried to kill Thor, destroy Puente Antigua, and had permanently injured so many people and animals. She moved past the remnants of the database network toward Fury where she knew she would have protection. She reached into her pocket and instinctively felt for her taser. To her relief it was still there and ready to dispatch this Asgardian as easily as she had incapacitated the mighty Thor. Fury noticed her and gestured towards the loading bay sternly. After a short exchange more between the two where Loki revealed that he was on earth to rule over humans deluded by freedom. Darcy waited a moment, a thousand possible outcomes going through her mind as to how best to get away. The most insane of which became the most likely to accomplish and certainly the easiest to take care of. Darcy sprinted forward as Hawkeye and Selvig explained that the area was collapsing under the surge of the Tesseract's energy. As she darted past Fury she swiftly caught hold of the handle on the briefcase, though not before Hawkeye took aim at the director on Loki's command. The trickster and his new minions suddenly noticed the flash of brown, pale ivory, shining spectacles, and terrified breathing. Darcy's hand grew damp with sweat and she was sure that her heart was pounding so hard that she was literally jostling the case just holding onto it. She raced past the group and darted out towards the waiting vehicles in the loading bay, a place she had been on only a few occasions when arriving or departing with Selvig for some outdoor examination of astronomical alignment.

"After her!" Loki shouted from behind.

Darcy heard gunfire and panted heavily as she made it out through the two sets of doors and into the parking lot. It seemed relatively abandoned for the time being and she hurried into one of the vehicles. The group accompanying Loki, who seemed to be limping slightly, suddenly appeared in the doorway. Darcy groaned. "Aw, man," she muttered, fumbling with the seatbelt. Just as she was about, she heard a loud blast and glass shattered in several directions. Darcy noted that an enormous crack had formed in the windshield along with a bullethole. She noticed that the shoulder strap on her seatbelt was dangling off to the side with a stain of blood on it. She groaned and looked down. Hawkeye had managed to shoot through the windshield and hit her seatbelt also wounding her in the process. It was odd, though, she didn't feel any pain. The alarms overhead were no longer sounding, but something told Darcy she needed to get away all the same. She grabbed hold of the wheel, turned the key, and pressed her foot to the floor on top of the gas pedal as she pulled out and away. She caught a glimpse of the man climbing into the back of a truck as Selvig and Hawkeye climbed into the adjacent truck. Darcy's eyes widened as she saw Loki lift the scepter towards her vehicle and fired a blast of bluish energy from the staff. It struck the hood just barely, mostly hitting the ground in front of her. He snarled in frustration as Darcy finally found the presence of mind to scream and flee all at once. She hurried out through the tunnel, still unsure that she would be able to get properly away, but determined to protect the cube that Jane was convinced was the key to retrieving Thor.

"Crap, crap, crap," Darcy muttered as she careened forward down the dimly lit tunnel. The tires screeched and whined alongside the engine as the truck finally exited the building and the rocks behind her as well as the gunfire mingled in a single resonating crash. She screamed as she suddenly saw several boulders and pieces of metal twisted as they rolled past her. Her heart sank all the more as the truck that was carrying Loki, Hawkeye, and Selvig pulled up alongside of her. "Dang it!" Darcy shrieked.

To her surprise, Loki didn't aim for her vehicle, but instead fired into the air and Darcy watched as a large helicopter fell from the sky some distance away, its blades digging deep and violent rifts in the ground. She screamed and turned the vehicle. As she did so, Darcy felt the vehicle collide with something large and powerful. She flew forward, held back only by the remnants of the safety belt and small airbag now deployed. She struggled to deflate the bag as her ears rang madly. In fact, at the moment she could barely see anything She quickly climbed out of the vehicle still clutching the briefcase and realized that she had collided with Hawkeye and Selvig's vehicle. They didn't seem to be inside it any longer and the stranger had obviously been thrown in the wreck. She glanced around anxiously, seeing Director Fury and two other people exiting the helicopter and looking shaken but alive. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and turned to hurry towards them, now beginning to feel the stinging of the bullet that had either embedded in or grazed her shoulder. She hesitated, now able to see the form of the fallen stranger. He laid face down, unmoving and clearly wounded judging by the pool of blood surrounding his head and chest. Against her instincts in accomplishing the agency's goals, the humanity in Darcy urged her to go and make sure the trickster was alive and able to survive as well. She groaned at the conflict, but in the end her compassion overwhelmed and took over. She sighed and slid the briefcase under the vehicle so that she could easily retrieve it. As she raced towards the trickster she noted that even now Hawkeye and Selvig were nowhere to be seen. She sighed and raced towards the fallen trickster, kneeling instantly.

"Oh man, oh man, Please don't be dead, or at least don't be all mangled and stuff."

Darcy turned him over, looking carefully over the wounds to see where the blood had come from. She saw a few tiny, tiny cuts on his face but nothing else. The pool of blood wasn't coming from any obvious wound, but there was a small bullethole in his right shoulder that mirrored her own. She leaned down and listened through the layers of thin gold, cloth, and leather for a heartbeat. Nothing. She felt a small measure of panic form within her and she hurriedly pressed two fingers against his neck and wrist with both hands. Loki had a pulse, a good strong and steady one. Darcy narrowed her eyes noting that he didn't seem to be breathing. She gently leaned forward and laid her head against his chest more firmly and placed a hand over his abdomen to feel his breaths. To her relief he seemed to be breathing fine for the moment. She sighed and leaned back, looking back at his otherwise unharmed face. Her heart sank and her eyes widened in fear and shock as she saw that his eyes were open as well. Their green glow penetrated her compassion and filled her with terror instead. Darcy hurried to stand, but was unable to move quickly enough to escape the trickster's grip. He took hold of her wrist and smirked, his fingers forming a set of four iron bands around her wrist. She grunted in pain and struggled to get free. Her heart sank even further and Darcy felt her knees buckle beneath her, causing her to kneel instinctively at the sight of Hawkeye and Selvig approaching, Selvig carrying the briefcase with the same blank expression on the agent's face.

"Well now," Loki said calmly and with a wicked smile. Darcy locked eyes with him, terror emblazoned on her features as he chuckled wickedly. "What have we here?" he said with a laugh. Darcy grunted and tried to free herself once more. He laughed more loudly, clearly amused by her attempts to escape as the other two joined them, Tesseract in tow. "Tell me, Erik Selvig, what use is this delicate little creature to me?"

"She was a friend of your brother's and an assistant to Jane, nothing important as far as being informed or skilled. She is virtually useless except perhaps as minor leverage," Selvig replied. Darcy looked back at him, his words cutting like daggers into her chest. She knew that he didn't think much of her especially not having studied what he considered 'real science'. A tear streamed down her cheek and, to her surprise, she felt the trickster's cool hand gently swipe away the tear and comfortingly stroke the side of her face. Her eyes widened all the more as his fingers trailed down her neck and down to the wound on her shoulder. It stung terribly now and she winced as his fingers softly laid against it. He drew in a deep breath and she watched as pale green light exuded from them and the stinging slowly stopped. Darcy looked down out of habit and gasped. The blood that had stained her jacket was gone as was the hole itself. She looked up at him confusion.

"You poor dear, to be so inundated by people with greater intellect and ambition," he said with a tone of pity. Darcy looked up at him trying to let anger take the place of the sudden wave of sadness that had hit her. She was probably going to die here in front of them and all they were doing was reminding her of what she had feared and been told repeatedly, she was a worthless hostage of greater minds. Loki smirked and gently moved the hand at her wrist up to her shoulder, holding her in place. "Perhaps she would be of greater use with an open mind," he remarked. "To accompany your compassionate heart." Darcy gasped and realized too late that he had raised the scepter he had used on Selvig and Hawkeye as well as the other agents and was now pressing the tip against her chest. She gasped and cried out, starting to plead with him for mercy instinctively as the gem began to glow. "There, there, young one, don't be frightened. This won't hurt a bit."

"That's not why I . . ." she began, but was cut short by the sudden cold and tightness in her chest. She gasped and leaned forward as he willed the surge of energy into her. He grinned as it began to travel up her smooth, lovely neck. "No . . ." she muttered.

"The Tesseract, several operatives of great intelligence and security," he mused. "And now a lovely, compliant little hostage that's sure to get my brother's attention as well as ensure the suffering of his beloved." Before the glow could reach fruition through the carotid arteries into Darcy's brain and heart itself, the glow suddenly began to increase in both the girl and the scepter. Loki frowned. This had never happened before. Darcy drew in a deep breath and firmly pulled away, shuddering as if beginning to have some sort of seizure. Loki looked from the girl to the scepter and narrowed his eyes. "What in the world is . . ." he began. Before he could finish, a blast threw Darcy backwards and Loki in the opposite direction. The two lay on the ground gasping with blue smoke rising from their respective wounds. Darcy wondered if the spell had worked. She didn't feel any different and none of the other enslavements had ended in an explosion. She groaned as pain took her and her pulse grew too great to ignore. She sighed and closed her eyes as she watched Hawkeye and Selvig hurry to tend to their fallen master.

_Well_, she thought. _Even if I am to end up a hostage, at least it was on my terms, with one great big bang_. Unconsciousness took her and Darcy hoped that she would awaken to better circumstances.


	2. Reflections, Gleaning, Comforting

**Chapter 2: Reflections, Gleaning, Comforting**

Darcy awoke after a long while. She wasn't sure exactly how long she had been unconscious and as the memories of what had recently transpired came back to her, she instinctively grasped at her chest. There were no marks, the wound on her shoulder was definitely gone, and she was still wearing the soft, cotton jacket. She heaved a sigh and tried to sit upright. Wherever she had ended up, it was surely underground. The echoes of footsteps, voices, electricity, and water met her with their respective and unusual smells. She glanced around the area where she had been lying. It was a makeshift cot constructed from empty wooden crates with several layers of old, worn blankets over it acting as a thin mattress. She lay in a corner, darker than the rest of the dark passageways connected into one main room. The set-up reminded Darcy of an abandoned subway system, but she couldn't see any tracks past the busy workers.

Some of the men hurrying back and forth were soldiers of foreign forces in military uniforms carrying automatic weapons and some were white-lab-coat wearing scientists obviously doing research that the trickster needed. She also saw that very few of them had the milky white mark of slavery in their eyes meaning that they were willingly serving this stranger. Just as she managed to sit upright and question why the scepter had fired against both she and Loki at the same time, Dr. Selvig walked past. Either he had been answering the call of nature or gathering some other supplies. He glanced back at her and sneered. "You weren't originally brought here, you know, so there's no use trying to find an escape route," he warned. Darcy turned and looked into his blank eyes and felt an ache at the man's loss of freedom, As forgetful as Selvig was about his personal hygiene on occasion he now looked as though he hadn't met a razor or water in days making the crazed and empty emotions in his eyes seem all the more unsettling. She groaned and sat more upright, rubbing her head and still trying to compute what had happened.

First, he had sent his minions after her to retrieve the Tesseract. Then he had allowed Hawkeye to wound her. Next he had learned that she was relatively useless to him as more than a simple hostage and had healed the wound inflicted by the archer. And then finally when he had prepared to turn her towards his irrefutable service, the two had ended up flying in opposite directions. What was it about that staff that had turned the other men and not her? For that matter, had he turned her in her sleep and she was unaware of it. She hurried forward and knelt next to a puddle with just enough light to make out the clear shape of her face and head as well as the colours that accompanied them. To her relief her eyes were the hazel green they had always been beneath the glimmering glass of her thick spectacles.

She sat back against the edge of the cot and groaned loudly partly out of boredom and partly out of dread. She heard an odd whine and noticed that not far away from the plastic screen enclosure that Selvig was using, Loki was seated and the scepter was held vertically beside him in hand, the stone glowing more brightly than ever, but the trickster's eyes closed to the world. An overwhelming curiosity about the scepter came to her and, against all good judgment, she moved forward as close as possible and watched him. He breathed deeply and his eyes opened slowly, displaying the same milky white that his minions did. Her expression dropped as her brow furrowed. Was he a captive as well? He didn't seem to be moving at all, not even breathing. Fear for his life despite being her captor moved through her. She scooted up in front of him as he stared into nothing. Without warning or explanation, she gently placed a hand on either side of his face. His skin seemed soft, but unusually cold. She pressed the tips of her fingers against the sides of his head and, for reasons she couldn't explain, she heard his voice in several sentences that barely made sense on their own.

"Let them go at themselves, I will lead them into glorious battle. Glorious, not lengthy, that is if your force is as _**formidable**_ as you claim," he said inwardly. Darcy wondered how in the world she was hearing this from someone who seemed to be in a trance. She felt his posture stiffen beneath him and his pulse begin to race at the neck. "I was a king! The rightful King of Asgard . . . betrayed."

"Betrayed?" Darcy whispered in confusion and now slight pity. "By who?"

"You don't have the Tesseract yet," he said in a low and warning tone that made Darcy scoot back an inch, her hands now moving to either side of his chest. "Oh, I don't threaten, but until I open the doors, until your force is mine to command, you are but words." Darcy narrowed her eyes at him. He had an army, he had said, but it wasn't his own? Who would've given him such a force and why would a powerful creature give an entire army permanently to a stranger like Loki? For that matter, who else would even want the Tesseract with so many instabilities?

She suddenly noticed a tear forming in the corners of his eyes, both welling up at the mention of something painful or more than painful itself. She gasped and moved forward, taking either side of his head and trying to gently pry him from the nightmare. For whatever reason she felt that somehow she would be freed if she could prove that not only was she useless, but that she had no intention of standing in his way . . . yet. He suddenly cried out and cringed to one side, panting heavily as the tears welled up in his eyes and finally spilled over the lachrymal causeways over the cliffs of pale cheek and chin. Darcy gasped and suddenly reached forward, swiping the tears away quickly. He was taken so aback by the gesture that neither noticed that the scepter was no longer glowing. He caught his breath as she continued to gently hold either side of his face. He had been a king and Thor had admitted that he had been banished for arrogance and warmongering. Had Loki been placed on the throne rightfully? Who was to say that Thor was telling all of the truth? The trickster looked back into the girl's eyes, hatred seething in the swirling pools of green.

"You're awake awfully soon for someone so terribly wounded," he mused almost angrily.

Darcy frowned and reached up, smoothing a dark strand of hair away from his forehead. He stayed perfectly still, wondering what gesture this unaltered mortal would make. It shocked him that she was being so tender with him after everything that had already happened and it occurred to him that she had no idea of the mayhem he had planned for the days to come. Darcy didn't quite understand it herself, but something in his eyes made her pity him. She had seen him attack agents at the facility, but then those agents had often acted as assassins doing whatever was necessary to complete their tasks regardless. Selvig had commented repeatedly about how that S.H.I.E.L.D. was a more noble SS with motives that protected an entirely different nation.. Neither he nor Jane had been entirely comfortable working for them and Darcy hadn't ever been allowed to voice an opinion one way or the other. Now it looked as though this creature from another world had escaped bullying only to try and be the bully first before any further harm came to him. Those words haunted her . . . the rightful king . . . betrayed. It still haunted her that he had healed her and been incredibly soothing even when trying to enslave her. Whatever had gone wrong mattered very little at the moment, but the notion that he had not only healed her but carried her to captive safety was painfully obvious and confused her to no end.

"You are no good to me dead, mortal, and you will bring Jane out from her protective hiding and create just as much suffering in my brother when he learns of your captivity at my mercy," Loki said in a low tone. Darcy trembled a little and looked more deeply into his eyes. Whoever he had been talking to had threatened him and seemed to have an agenda all their own. The theories of enemies banding together with ulterior motives suddenly came into her mind. She leaned forward and softly touched the side of his face again which oddly seemed to relax him as he turned his gaze to her eyes directly with irritation and confusion. "What is it that keeps you in front of me instead of where I placed you to begin with, mortal? Do you desire a greater display of my prowess?"

In a flash, Darcy leaned forward and pulled his head gently to her chest. His eyes widened as he reveled in the warmth of her bosom and the soft rhythm of her heartbeat. Mortal heartbeats were to Asgardians what cat's purring was to humans and it brought to him sensations that he had not known since early in his youth when he had still been small enough for his mother to take him into her arms. She leaned down and softly kissed the top of his head as she realized something aloud.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "You're a hostage, too."


	3. Under Fear

**Chapter 3: Under Fear**

It suddenly occurred to the trickster that despite the warmth, the softness, and the soothing sound of her sultry bust he was running out of time to complete his task and command the Chitauri. He growled and shoved Darcy away as harshly as he could. "Sentiment," he hissed furiously. "Such things belong solely between a mother and a suckling child, not a king and his slave."

Darcy frowned at him as she ignored the three small cuts she now sported on her right forearm and left palm as she skidded to a halt in front of the crate-cot. "You're not _**my**_ king," she muttered unhappily to herself as she brushed away some dirt from her jacket and tried to wipe the blood pooling at the surface of the superficial wounds on her dark jeans. It probably wouldn't show and it certainly wouldn't have a chance to make her look like she had been fist fighting with a plate-glass window. Loki narrowed his eyes at her, clearly having heard her muttered defiance. Darcy turned and watched him a little more irritated than frightened. He stood, straightening himself and taking his scepter in hand. A strange gold glow surrounded him and he soon sported extensive gold armor with obviously ancient engravings of serpents, horses, bears, and other symbols. A helmet with enormous golden horns slowly covered his head and made him a formidable match for any NBA star if it were to have been included in his total height. "Whoa," she half-whispered as a long, billowing green cape finished the ensemble and he stood over her.

"Care to speak that again?" he asked, gripping the scepter.

"But it's true; you're not king of anyone here," Darcy said with a defensive shrug. "Besides, I'm a United States citizen, Americans don't have a royal family we kind of built a whole nation against that whole ideology."

"And you have seen firsthand the turmoil that being leaderless has done for you. A proper king would never have allowed the Tesseract to have created such devastation for that dwelling," he retorted indignantly. He gestured to the men around him. "And see how easily a proper ruler can organize even the greatest of enemies. All these men . . ." he turned and waved a hand out at the crowd of scientists and warriors scurrying about in his service. Still turned away, he grinned and spoke proudly. "Men from the north, the south, the east, and the west of your world. Sworn enemies divided by sundry faiths and fiscal tribulations; under any other circumstances they would destroy one another in a heartbeat. But under my guidance," he said with a small chuckle and a broader grin at this accomplishment. "They are given purpose, and that purpose gives them peace." Darcy watched him, rolling her eyes for a moment as she adjusted her glasses and inwardly thought of just how deluded this guy must've been. He preached noble intentions, but nothing noble was forced and she knew that firsthand as well. She slowly, quietly, rose and began to step backwards toward one of the darker, unused tunnels as he continued his vain and virtuous speech. "This is the world I will bring humanity. All will be united and all will serve a most glorious king. There will be no war, no hunger, no . . ." As he continued, Darcy silently darted away down the tunnel and kept near the wall, feeling her way through the darkness and trying not to make any sounds that would echo through the stone and damp. "I will see paradise restored to what was once the second most beautiful realm in all existence. All I ask is that the entirety of your race do as I . . ." he turned back and suddenly grew silent at the sight of the missing girl. He cursed his senses for being more attuned to the scurrying on around him and not on the impudent little wench he had captured. He growled and turned back to the group of men hard at work and too engrossed in it to notice their master's displeasure.

"Agent Barton!" Loki shouted furiously. The blank-eyed archer hurried forward and stood a few feet in front of his new commander patiently awaiting orders. "Keep all of this working smoothly until I return. Should you sense any presence of the girl nearby you will apprehend her, violently if you must, and detain her until I return or I will cut away every sense from you until you lie helpless and writhing on the ground; am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," Hawkeye said, turning back to his duties quickly and informing the other men.

Once Loki was sure that the men were well informed, he turned and scanned the area carefully. He slowly knelt and felt with every sense, every cell within him, for the girl's presence. Her energy seemed to have disappeared down one of the longer, darker tunnels. He grinned and the golden glow surrounded him once more causing the armor, helmet, and cape to disappear instantly. The leather and linen that still clothed him slowly shifted and shrank as his limbs contorted into two front and two rear extremities with a long tail and large, poised ears. He now appeared to be an enormous brown and black mottled cat with striking green eyes and long, elegant whiskers. He grunted instinctively and bounded off down the tunnel. It was far easier to see in the dark in this form and her scent would be easier to follow not to mention he could do it silently. The next best choice would've been a bat, but he wagered that such a form would've caused a stir from more than the girl. He trotted happily, silently down the hallway with his tail straight up in a single crook. Her scent was growing more clear and he could hear the thundering of her terrified heart. Perfect, he thought. He summoned a wisp of energy from the scepter and sent it down ahead of him. Now we'll see just how easily deceived you are.

(*)

Darcy hurried down the darkened tunnel wrinkling her nose at the awful smells of rust, mildew, and the faint wafts of sewage. She groaned, but tried to keep every other noise absent as she moved. She took moderately long strides, carefully setting her feet on the ground in a good, absorbent pair of sneakers. They had been perfect for running errands for Jane in the lab (Jane being particular about any squeaking, scraping, rattling, or clicking from Darcy's other shoes in the past). After a few moments Darcy removed her hand from the wall. It was becoming slick and she knew that couldn't be a good sign at all. This wasn't exactly a smart thing to do. She didn't know the outlay of the area and if she had been right in initially thinking it was a subway, there was always the chance of coming upon the active parts adjacent to the abandoned ones.

She huffed in frustration and felt along the wall for an area only cold and slightly damp to lean on. She put both hands on either side of her head and groaned. What had she been thinking taking the briefcase to begin with? And why hadn't she tried to insist that she was useless to the trickster? She remembered much of what she had read from Selvig's library book. Loki was known as the God of Lies and Mischief, but he had a terribly cruel streak because of it. After destroying so many agents in the lab and killing Ramona indirectly she could only imagine what was planned for her after Loki was done hurting Thor and Jane. She groaned inwardly and sunk to the ground, breathing heavily. She perked up at the familiar sound of a small cant's meow. She looked up and saw in the very dim light a few feet away that a dark-furred cat sat waiting and observing her. It's tail twitched anxiously and it shifted on its front paws as it watched her. Darcy stood slowly and kept her eyes locked with the strange greenish yellow eyes of the beast. The cat licked its lips and let out another meow.

"You wouldn't happen to know a way out would you?" she muttered, reaching out a hand toward the creature as she usually did with cats. It darted forward and sniffed her fingers for a moment before affectionately rubbing its head all over her hand. She smiled and softly stroked its head and back. The cat meowed loudly once more and Darcy felt too overwhelmed to do anything but pick up the creature and clutch it to her. It began purring loudly, pressing its head against her chin as she sighed and stroked its side. "Poor little guy. No clean food or water or snuggly blankets to sleep on." She held him in front of her for a moment. "I know a little about what you're feeling. Of course I don't lick my own rear, but hey, you've gotta do what you've gotta do." The cat grunted as she pulled him back to her chest. "And I've gotta get out of here."

The cat grunted and suddenly leapt from her arms with a strength that Darcy hadn't felt in a feline before. She imagined that was the kind of strength in a tiger or lion cub, but it seemed strange for a simple house cat to be that strong no matter how enormous it seemed. She watched the cat bound down the hallway towards the left. She furrowed her brow and watched as the cat disappeared. She took a few steps after it out of curiosity. Her eyes lit up and a twinge of hope filled her as she suddenly noticed that there was a glowing light in the distance. She grinned and raced forward, caring very little if her footsteps could be heard at this point or not. She mouthed several prayers of thanks as the light grew brighter. _Light at the end of the tunnel, perfect_, she thought to herself. _Something always happens to let the good guys win_.

As the light grew even brighter, Darcy suddenly noticed that the shape of the light was that of an orb, not an aperture. She slowed down and gazed more carefully. No, this couldn't have been a way out. This was some sort of light source and it was either electronic or magical like the trickster's weapons. She took several cautious steps even closer. Her heart sank as she recognized the blue glow within the orb. In a flash it moved toward her and halted, revealing that it was indeed just a blue orb that mimicked the light from both the gem in the scepter and the Tesseract itself. She whined unhappily and let her arms drop to her sides. This had been an illusion, nothing more. A pair of strong hands suddenly seized her from behind. Darcy immediately began to lash out with every limb, but the grip of her captor seemed unshaken by it. He held her tightly as the orb flew onto her and seemed to envelop her for a moment. Darcy shrieked as the light surrounded her and then glowed brightest at her wrists, forming two large shackles that were attached to one another with no chain between them. They still glowed brightly and now she could see the trickster's hand reaching down for the shackles. He leaned down to her ear, grinning, and began to purr loudly, the same purr from the cat. Darcy's heart raced and she tried to pull free of him only to find his grip far too tight. "What a naughty little girl you were to run off like that. What if you'd been hurt . . . or worse?" he said in an oily tone.

Darcy grunted and continued to try and break free. "The only things worse than death are waiting back where you were," she spat back. Loki laughed heartily and turned her, forcing her to walk forward back down the tunnel. She walked, not wanting to fall and create any more unnecessary injuries superficial or otherwise. Her arm and palm were already stinging horribly. They returned to the central hub of activity, the bands on her wrists still glowing. "You're a creep, a thief, and a pervert. I hope that when Thor gets a good hold on you he . . ."

She was cut short by Loki's hand over her mouth. It was the hand that had been firmly over the bands on her wrists and light had traveled with it. The light that had lingered over Darcy's mouth with the trickster's hand suddenly turned cold. He grinned more brightly as a smooth band of metal formed over lips and around the back of her head uncomfortably. Darcy shrieked in terror at the makeshift muzzle that now silenced her. She shook her head furiously and began begging, pleading, and panting beneath the metal. Darcy trembled violently as Loki moved her forward to approach Selvig and Hawkeye respectively. Selvig turned from his work for a moment and noticed the girl in Loki's possession. He laughed and pointed at the two.

"Hey, you finally found a way to keep her quiet!" he laughed. Darcy let out a pitiful moan and a tear formed in her eyes. "No one else has ever been able to stop that kind of noise."

The trickster felt the girl's heart beginning to race all the more and her breath was not quite able to keep up. She would faint soon. "What on earth is making you so hysterical? It's temporary, painless, and will keep you fully from making me angry enough to kill you for a short while," Loki remarked.

"Eh, she's claustrophobic, I think," Selvig remarked, waving a hand dismissively as he went back to his work. He called over his shoulder as he continued examining the Tesseract. "She's afraid of small spaces and being helpless to move or speak. Most claustrophobics can't even wear masks they're so paranoid."

"Small spaces?" Loki mused as he heard Hawkeye approach. He could give the archer orders in a moment. For now he needed to secure his captive and enact a certain amount of torture at the same time. He turned Darcy to face him. "Well then I have just the perfect place for you, my curious little trinket."

"Sir, I have news about the location of Fury and the surviving agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Hawkeye announced.

Loki ignored this for a moment and led Darcy over to a relatively empty corner. Darcy stared at him in confusion, still breathing heavily under the mask. He smirked and reached down to the floor, opening a large, metal flap leading to an underground shelter. They were constructed for a maximum of two people in case of a bomb threat and it seemed like only a few had been made and scattered for the safety of workers. Her eyes widened in terror as he threw back the flap and then turned back to her. She struggled more furiously to run, but the grip he had on her arm could not be broken. She screamed violently beneath the metal band and pleaded to no avail. Not only could the trickster not hear her, he was clearly in no mood for anything but utter cruelty. He seized her by the collar and scooted her over the shelter hewn even deeper underground than the tunnels. He smirked at her one last time.

"A good king will show mercy to the penitent," he mused. Her eyes widened and a few tears streamed down her cheeks as she continued to silently plead. He pulled her face closer to his for a beat. "But a great king must first punish all disobedience. Learn your lesson well and I may yet spare your life."

Darcy screamed as she plunged the short distance downward into the shelter. He had released her quickly and just as quickly shut the door over the shelter. Only a small hole that lay near the handle allowed any modicum of light within. It occurred to Darcy in her feverish illogical fear that the hole was her only source of air as well. The air quickly became to thick to breathe and she had collided with the floor too painfully to hold onto much breath in the first place. She sobbed painfully and realized that she had bruised several places, possibly broken a bone, and she had earned a place of contempt in an already violent enemy. She didn't fiht unconsciousness as it began to take her. Her eyes fluttered closed and the searing pain in her shoulders and chest enveloped her whole body until she could stand it no longer. The words she had heard in the trickster's mind played over and over again. That was what had made him truly angry. He had been talking with someone, but who? Who was demanding the Tesseract from a distance and using him? More intriguing, why would anyone as arrogant as he seemed to be allow himself to be used? Her mind went numb and cold and a strange image suddenly formed in the darkness. She saw the trickster in his golden armor and helmet, carrying the scepter at its largest length. A creature hidden almost entirely by bluish gray robes stood behind him, speaking in a gravelly voice. Tears had formed in the trickster's eyes, sporting the same expression that had been on his features just before he had awakened with a start.

"You think you know pain?" the creature asked coldly. Loki said nothing, staring forward and holding back the torrent of tears that clearly wanted to escape. "_He_ will make you long for something sweet as _**pain**_!"

With the final word the creature slammed its open hand into the side of Loki's head and he cringed just as he had done upon awakening. Darcy's mind raced at these last few images before total unconsciousness. He who? Who was threatening the brother of the Mighty Thor . . . a prince himself and a King in his own mind? She groaned as all images and sensations finally left her. As cruel as her captor was, it seemed the creature holding Loki hostage was all the more cruel and it would be far more difficult to rescue a villain from captivity than an innocent gopher.


	4. Kneel Thyself

**Chapter 4: Kneel Thyself**

Loki sat pensively, watching the men scurrying around doing his bidding. This would be the future of the earth under his reign, order and perfect harmony. He sighed and called one of the men to him, carrying a large Howitzer. The man approached him and nodded quickly. Loki appraised him and contemplated what this human was entirely. Their composition was quite the same as his own; flesh, blood, bone, a mind (albeit a smaller one with less capacity for stately thought), and of course a heart. Their eyes intrigued him, though. Humans had the capacity for many colours of eyes and blended colours as well. This particular man had bluish green eyes with flecks of amber and deep brown. Loki had a fascination with such things because his eyes were the first things he noticed to be different than the rest of the Asgardians in the palace. Because of magic and so on, some of the powerful sorcerers or servants had darker hair, although blonde and red were the most prominent. The eyes of Asgardians, however, were all crystal blue, a solid blue that left no room for other colours or, as Loki suspected, purposes and emotions. Humans were volatile emotionally and could complete a number of purposes even in one individual which was also impressive and useful. He knew that their eyes weren't the cause of it, but they were most definitely a reflection of it.

"What is your name?" Loki asked unenthusiastically. It was customary to ask a human their name; they seemed most at ease if their title had been exchanged first.

"Connor Lewis," the man replied in a thick Irish accent. Loki smirked. There were few Europeans in this group and the pale representatives of the world that once worshipped his father and brother, and to some extent he himself, were all somewhat less fierce but more alert than the others. "What is your request, sir?"

That name; Loki recognized the last name. Lewis . . . the girl that he had imprisoned several hours ago. He glanced up at the man and waved a hand dismissively. "Return to your post and watch diligently for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the one called Fury."

"Yes, sir," the man replied with a nod and hurried back into the swarm of men with the same purpose. Loki watched him disappear and rose slowly. He closed his eyes a moment and sent his thoughts to Agent Barton summoning him. In an instant, the blank-eyed archer appeared behind him expressionlessly.

"Sir?" he asked.

"The preparations to enter the German nation are nearly complete, are they not?" he asked.

"Of course, sir," Barton replied.

"And you have told me everything, everything that you know about S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asked lifting a brow.

Barton looked at him in slight confusion. "I could tell you more about their physical technicalities, but I didn't see it as necessary," Barton replied. Loki stared at him in equal confusion. Barton cleared his throat. "Tony Stark has been treated repeatedly for sexually transmitted diseases by a private physician with antibiotics other than penicillin due to a violent allergy. Steven Rogers still occasionally requires treatment for acute asthma with . . ."

"I don't need to know any of that," Loki snapped, suddenly grasping his brow and trying to blot out the image of the images he had seen of Stark in the company of various women accompanying this new information. Barton nodded, not speaking aloud what he normally would have in reminding the trickster that he had left it out for a reason to begin with. Loki sighed heavily and leaned against the nearest wall for a moment, grasping his scepter. He turned slowly back to Barton. "Bring me the girl, enlist Selvig if you must, and be sure she has strength enough to stand," he ordered. Barton nodded as Loki added one more condition before he left to complete the task. "And kneel."

(*)

Darcy floated in darkness, her mind blotting out every unpleasant sound and thought to try and avert pure hysteria. She breathed quietly as best she could without use of her mouth. Light, dim light, but light suddenly flooded in accompanying a heavy creak and a loud bang as the metal door opened. Fresh air filled her nostrils, as fresh as could be had in this subterranean labyrinth of malcontent. She felt herself lifted by the shirt, up and out of the shelter. She grunted, not opening her eyes as she was set down harshly on the ground, her wrists still painfully bound in the metal shackles that had seemed to grow tighter as she had been dropped in before. She furrowed her brow despite not opening her eyes, groaning as pain started to manifest in her head as well. She felt someone harshly shove her onto her back, grasp the chain between the shackles, and then yank her forward.

"Hey, hey, hey, easy now. She's a little irritating, but she's still just a kid, alright?" a familiar voice reprimanded whoever had handled her so violently. Selvig, it suddenly recurred to her that he was a hostage as well. He seemed willing, but it was only a matter of time before he was harmed as well, she thought. "Come on, Darcy, just sit up for a minute."

"He said to bring her, not to get her settled on the ground," Barton snapped back.

"He said to make sure she had strength to stand," Selvig added.

"And kneel," Barton added hotly. "Get it done, now."

Selvig motioned for one of the other professionals that had worked with him to move forward and set down a large medical kit. Darcy thought about those words . . . strong enough to stand and kneel. Did he expect her to make some kind of display for him, for others by kneeling for him? That wouldn't accomplish much except maybe make him look superior, though that seemed to be his goal since arriving when he wasn't focused on the Tesseract itself. She shuddered inwardly at thinking what else he had planned for her if he wanted that kind of display. Selvig took hold of the kit and opened it as the other researcher got back to work. Darcy opened her eyes and allowed them to adjust to the light as she settled her vision on the familiar sight of Selvig with an unfamiliar glow in his eyes. Barton knelt behind her, a hand still firmly grasping the chains and the other on her shoulder. Selvig withdrew a syringe and looked at the label carefully making sure that it contained a measure of vitamins suspended in a good amount of saline. He then took hold of a small bottle and inserted the needle in, drawing in the tiniest of drops of fluid. "There, this should get her back up on her feet. Not too much . . . don't want her to get hurt, after all."

"Just give it to her so I can finish what he's asked for," Agent Barton snorted.

"This is going to hurt for a second, Darcy, okay? But you'll feel a whole lot better after," Selvig offered. Darcy's eyes widened as he leaned towards her, not even swabbing an area of her skin as any normal physician would have. Selvig was a doctor of physics and had taken basic medical training after failing to resuscitate Jane's father, but Darcy questioned whether or not he knew what he was doing here. She grunted and tried to pull away. Selvig took hold of one of her arms pulling down harshly on the cloth right at her shoulder so that it was well exposed, jabbing the needle deeply into the deltoid on her right shoulder while Barton kept a death grip on her left. She shrieked in pain as the needle sunk menacingly into her muscle, past flesh and fearfully flowing blood. "Take deep breaths and this should do the trick."

Darcy felt the thick fluid enter her and before she knew it every sense was heightened and her heart was thundering for several moments. She gasped, now truly feeling inhibited by the muzzle and leapt to her feel past Barton's grip. She leaned against the wall, coughing and searching the room around her as her vision became more clear and she could more easily hear the voices of the men in Loki's service. Epinephrine, she realized to herself, he must've given me some of it to give me a jolt of energy. She still trembled as she stood having been so shaken with wounds, the terrifying stay in the shelter, the bindings, and now this medicine that had been both necessary and unnecessary for her. Barton huffed as Selvig put the syringe back in the kit and closed it, glancing at Darcy and quickly standing in front of her, blocking Barton's path.

"Dr. Selvig, you have to get out of here, you have to help me!" she grunted and cried under the muzzle. It came out as a series of unintelligible mumblings, but Selvig recognized her desperation.

"Darcy, are you okay? Are you feeling light-headed?" he asked in genuine concern. Darcy shook her head furiously, but before Selvig could inquire further, Barton reached past the doctor and snatched the chains in one hand, heaving Darcy forward and leading her towards where Loki stood waiting. "Be careful with her, huh? She's just a kid, not one of your steroid-sporting lackeys, bird-brain!" Selvig called after him. "He won't be happy if you bring her to him damaged!"

"Egg-headed rock-jockey," Barton muttered as he hauled Darcy behind him. She grunted every so often, pulling at the chains. Barton tugged harshly on them, pulling her forward but not turning back to reprimand her. "Keep moving and stop fighting or I'll give Selvig a better reason to revive you."

Darcy stared at him in horror as he led her down through several archways and two tunnels to where Loki paced back and forth. Barton led her to stand in the center of an even more barren room, cold and damp. Again, dim light filtered in as she watched him and he watched her. His eyes grew wide with curiosity and wicked glee as he saw her come towards him Barton stopped a few feet away, holding the chains harshly. She breathed deeply and stared back at him. She could sense that he was still confused as to why the young girl had resisted the scepter's effects and why it had created a violent reaction. She was still confused herself though not ungrateful to whatever force had done it. He took three slow, long steps towards them, glowing brightly in gold as armor and a large horned helmet slowly covered him. A flowing green cape swirled behind him as he moved to stand in front of the two barely a hair's breadth away. Darcy instinctively stepped backwards a pace which was all she could manage as Barton kept hold of the chains unmoving. Loki grinned.

"Go back to your preparations, Agent Barton, and leave this to me," he ordered smoothly. Darcy trembled as the trickster took his scepter more fully in his hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "What makes you so special, I wonder? A mortal immune to the powers of distant realms," he mused. Darcy simply stared back, sure that if she made a mad dash for it now that she would be killed or worse. His expression changed to a more somber and almost indignant glare. "Kneel before me," he commanded. Darcy began to tremble, the hunger, fear, and wounds making her feel so very weak now. Loki snarled and lifted his scepter. "Kneel, mortal."

In all of her classes that taught survival stories from wars, coups, and kidnappings, Darcy remembered that those who were compliant at the beginning usually survived the most violent of captors. Given that hers was also a preternatural, legendary being it made the danger all the more violent. She groaned and slowly, carefully knelt before the trickster. He smirked and chuckled as she looked back up at him. He held out the scepter towards her face, noting that she wasn't flinching or moving away. This intrigued him, but for the moment he had a different purpose, a more grand and benign display to make for her. Free-minded followers like this one would have to be broken carefully and exactly. He softly lifted her chin with the blade of the scepter so that she faced him more fully. With a quick turn of his wrist the scepter shifted and the glowing gem touched the muzzle over her mouth. Darcy's breath quivered as the glow intensified and the muzzle disappeared. He retracted the scepter from her face and then moved the edge down to her wrists, slashing the chains with its blade and causing her to jump ever so slightly at the sound and feel of the metal breaking. As the chains were severed by the sparkling gold, the shackles melted away and disappeared.

"There now, that's much better isn't it?" he purred. Darcy breathed deeply and leaned forward. She groaned and placed her palms flat against the cold floor, nearly sick now with the overwhelming fear and pain that had grown in her head. She thought back to what Selvig had given her and what it could've been doing to her now. Then she thought about what Selvig would face as soon as he was done with his work and she began to tremble all the more, sobbing a little at the thought of him perishing at the hand of this intruder. Loki furrowed his brow at her. "What troubles you, child? You knelt and you obeyed . . . why so frightened now when you have done so well?"

"Please . . ." Darcy muttered softly. He lifted one brow at this. It felt good to hear a creature, a human, plead, but she hadn't asked for anything yet. Not yet. She slowly raised herself upward, still on her hands and knees as she gazed at him. "Please let Dr. Selvig go, he doesn't deserve to die, to suffer, to lose any part of himself to you," she stammered. He frowned and scoffed at this. "I can do whatever he was doing . . . I-I-I'm not a physicist, but I've been working with them and I can always use the internet to find out anything else I need. I can do whatever you need him to if you'll let him go, please."

Loki stared at her in confusion for a moment and then slowly moved an inch closer, the golden armor and helmet disappearing. He gave her a sideways glance, unsure if she was in earnest or able. He gazed deeply into her eyes, her hazel-green eyes that were terrified, but intent on saving someone she seemed to care for. He smirked and placed a hand tenderly under her chin.

"You could hardly take his place," he mused. "You haven't the intellect."

"I can get anything I need from anyone else with that intellect," she protested with a few gasps as strength began to leave her again. "I can search the deep web; I can do things with computers no one else here can do."

"Yes, but you're hardly as enlightened as the others that serve such high purposes," he replied. Darcy continued to lock eyes with him, clearly unsettled and weakened but still somehow pretending to be unafraid. This would be most useful in some way, he realized. He held the scepter aloft and the gem began to glow. "Shall we remedy that?"

"It didn't work the first time, for whatever reason it just didn't work," Darcy said flatly. He froze and gave her a cautious stare. "Go ahead and try again, but if it causes another explosion it'll take out some pretty important equipment." The trickster frowned realizing that she was right and that since he still hadn't understood why the scepter had failed to take her mind for his own he risked losing everything if he attempted and failed again. Loki drew in a deep breath, hardening his gaze as he tried to ascertain what it was exactly that had spared her from the usefulness of the weapon to begin with. There didn't seem to be anything terribly unusual about her, not as far as mortals went. He reached up and removed her spectacles, looking over them meticulously. "Hey! I can't see without those!"

"Then why were you allowed to live past infancy?" Loki asked without looking up from examining the device she wore for her obvious weakness.

"One, the opthamalogical industry had one more patron to keep money coming at them," Darcy said with a sneer at his fascist remark. She snatched the glasses back and placed them back on. He watched her as she shifted them and then turned to face him matter-of-factly. "And secondly, my technological skills are way above federal agent level."

"Truly?" Loki said, appraising her once more. Federal agents were the problem at the moment, perhaps she could help him past that if she still wanted to bargain for the doctor. He grinned. "I would be most grateful for such services," he remarked. Darcy remained emotionless, unsure how to react. "Grateful enough to spare your Doctor Selvig if that is your price."

Darcy perked up and nodded. "You promise to release him . . . alive and well, from serving you if I get into their mainframe?"

"Agreed," the trickster said proudly.

He stood slowly as she stood as well. He turned to her and lifted one brow reproachfully. Darcy suddenly realized what he expected and that Selvig's life depended on it. She quickly moved to kneel, but lost strength in her legs and breath as she did so. The prospect of a willing servant had given the trickster a brief moment of contentment which now gave way to the briefest moment of concern. He quickly knelt as well, catching her and noting that her green eyes were spinning as she struggled to sit up. He carefully eased her to the floor, waving a hand and willing the pile of blankets that had been underneath her on the boxes before to appear beneath her now. She was growing more pale and cool to the touch, never a good sign for a living creature not born to a realm of constant winter. Without realizing exactly what he was doing, the trickster gently situated his captive on the blankets and pulled off the heavy green cloak from his shoulders, placing it over her and smoothing a few hairs away from her brow.

Her breath began to grow faint as well and he frowned, summoning energy around him. She was useful to him, enchanted or not, and he needed her to be strong. She had been strong enough to stand physically, strong enough to stay standing mentally in keeping her gaze locked with his, he thought. He grinned and affectionately touched the top of her head, willing a healing surge of green light to slowly pulse through her. And she had been clever enough to kneel when it would keep her alive and potentially appease her desire to preserve the doctor, whatever he was to her. Loki drew in a deep breath of relief as colour returned to her and he realized that more than being a well-postured captive in the game of reigning on earth he played against Thor and the leaders of this world, she was a puzzle that would be most amusing to piece together . . . entirely.


	5. StripTase

_(((Thank you to the massive number of new followers and their fearless leader, amidtheflowers! You're about to embark on a journey that will explain why Darcy carries a taser in the first place, who controls who would be king, and what they do when they're both trapped in the hands of a merciless enemy!)))_

**Chapter 5: Strip-Tase**

Darcy was permitted a full hour to rest by the trickster as he sat and watched her. He had examined her carefully, thoroughly, to try and ascertain why she had not succumbed to the scepter's effect. He narrowed his eyes at her after laying a hand on the side of her head as she slept and searched every opinion, every memory, and every hypothesis that she had ever had to see if perhaps she was some kind of unusually gifted human whose intellectual quotient made her somehow detached from her emotional state, something that might have prevented effects on the metaphoric 'heart' through the cognitive processes that governed emotions which is exactly what the scepter was meant to do. He then placed a hand close to her heart, shaking away the instinctive warmth that surged through him at the feel of her softness and the soft moan she made as his hand rested very near her right breast, feeling for the natural power of the heart each human possessed.

"Mmmmm," she mumbled with a smile. Loki narrowed his eyes at her as she grinned in her sleep, continuing to mutter. "You were great."

"What in the nine realms spares you, you insignificant little . . ." he muttered as he finally caught the feel of her heart. It was fluttering in a dream about a well-muscled older man not unlike his brother; though with darker, shorter hair, fierce eyes, and long, metal claws protruding from his hands. "Intimacy," he whispered in disgust. "More loathsome than sentiment, particularly in your kind." He tried to push past the girlish infatuation spinning within her to see the content within, her true character. In Selvig and Barton, indeed in all the agents he had taken, the content was of a primarily selfish nature save for a few traces of compassion.

The agents were fixed on their task, Barton on his mission, Selvig on his work and very little else. He hadn't felt a great deal of empirical intellect in her mind to thwart the scepter, not that this would've been the case since Selvig had more than a wealth of empirical knowledge and was quite easily taken, but one reason at the moment was just as good as another until something was proven. He growled in frustration, not sensing anything past the dream that produced the infatuation. There was no void, which he had felt in mortals particularly in Selvig himself, not by any means, but there was nothing else, as if she had preserved space within her character for specific traits . . . traits he couldn't see and she hadn't thought about specifically enough for him to grasp. He growled in frustration. No mortal was this complex at this age, not a female and certainly not someone so without purpose. He growled softly and sat her up towards him, feeling through the ribs on her back to see if another angle might prove more suitable an aperture. No such luck. Had Darcy been awake she might have compared his inner-vision to a CT Scan and been able to tell him that the angle was more important in an x-ray which were more penetrating and direct. He heard her groan once more and she lazily wrapped her arms around him, laying her head against his chest and sighing.

"Show me the sunset," she muttered with a smile. He frowned and rolled his eyes in irritation, but allowed her to stay put a little while longer. There had to be some sort of oddity in her, some sort of strangeness that separated her from her kind that spared her. Once he knew what it was, he could find a way around it. Of all the small victories he had already enjoyed in this pathetic but amusing realm, having this pathetic little human completely at his disposal would be the most satisfying yet. Not nearly as satisfying as standing and greeting his subjects for the first time as their king. He had already imagined the grand celebration once he had united their peoples and nations as their sovereign. He grinned at the thought of the crowd hailing and cheering, finally at peace. The very notion of the swell of adulation washing over him in golden armor under the bright, Midgard sun, soothed him and he allowed himself a brief and genuine grin as he mindlessly placed an arm around Darcy and the other on her head.

"Sir?" Agent Barton said loudly. Loki's train of thought wrecked instantly. Darcy stirred, snorting and muttering the words 'it's not charged yet'. The two suddenly noticed one another in close proximity. Darcy gave him a look of confusion as he snarled and shoved her harshly down and away. "I wanted to inform you that Doctor Selvig seems to have lost a piece of equipment."

"Oh for the love of every living . . ." he muttered angrily. He suddenly froze and then began to quake violently, eyes wide for a span. Barton watched in stunned silence as his master fell backwards, gasping.

Darcy stood up, angrily brushing herself off and slipping the taser back into her pocket. Loki wasn't sure what had happened exactly or that it had been entirely unpleasant, but he was sure she was at fault and had meant to do so much more. The short-range function acted more like a cattle prod, she was told, and the manual had warned her against using it on someone with light clothing, on bare skin, or on a person with a known condition. Barton lifted one brow as she moved past him and stood, folding her arms and glaring at the trickster. His leather and thick cloth had definitely shielded him enough to prevent burnt flesh, but like Thor, he was not invulnerable to direct electricity. Little did Darcy know that this was a natural weakness that would not always be in place for the trickster and certainly didn't affect his brother any longer. But as long as she had the taser, she felt safe.

"Shove me again and I'll take it off 'demo'," she said before turning back to the archer. Something told her she could afford to be a little more bold while he needed her services and with a malfunction, he would need a monitor on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s activities while trying to remedy the situation. She turned to Barton matter-of-factly. "Where's your OS?"

Barton turned back to Loki for a moment, waiting for instruction. He stopped reeling enough to nod quickly to the agent and remind himself to exact revenge later, something that wouldn't cripple her ability to serve him. A nightmare perhaps to destroy whatever pleasantness he hadn't permitted when she had fallen asleep. That alone was enough to warrant punishment; it was more than impertinent for a servant to enjoy themselves in the presence of an unhappy master. Barton quickly took Darcy by the arm, not as aggressively this time, and led her hurriedly towards the group of computers that had been swiftly collected and put into use as soon as the location had been acquired. Darcy noted the largest and most user-friendly of them was already in use with a large, what she had assumed was an American traitor, sat busy at work glancing over code and obviously struggling with it. She pulled away from the archer and hurried up to the screen.

"Wow, why don't you just stick a floppy in there and back up all your data?" she grumbled, pushing the man's hand aside. "Are you seriously operating an international program on Lennux? That's like asking the Queen of England to go bowling with you."

"You, get out of the way and let her have it," Barton ordered sternly. The man frowned at the two of them but stood obediently and lifted his hands defensively as he moved to another monitor. "Get to work. I'll be watching you," Barton warned.

"All the time or do I get a bathroom break?" she asked sarcastically. Barton turned and glared at her with those frightening milky eyes, his hand forming a fist around the hilt of the pistol in his belt. He might not have been at his best with a gun, but he had managed to hit her before. "Let's get this puppy wired into their system."

"Is there anything else you require to work efficiently?" Barton asked emotionlessly.

She thought for a moment and looked back up at him. "What happened to Mr. Selvig?" she asked. "What broke or messed up on him?"

"Not your concern," Barton replied. She huffed and turned back to the screen, shaking her head. "Don't slip up," he warned in a low tone. She glanced back up at him, straightening her glasses. "I'll see it."

As he walked away, Darcy turned back to the screen and sighed heavily. "Not with fifteen ounces of pepper spray in your face you won't," she muttered.

"And where do you think you'll get that?" an icy voice announced from behind her. Darcy froze for a moment as she felt the trickster standing immediately behind her. How had he approached her so quickly when she hadn't heard him at all. Her mind raced and she instinctively slipped her hand into her jacket and grasped the taser, slipping it under the desk and on top of the flat, plastic shell of a large processor. She sat back and breathed deeply, unsure of what to do next. He watched her carefully as she stayed perfectly still. If she had a weapon on her, it needed to be removed and it needed to be established that she had nothing else to use without his permission. "Stand up," he said firmly. Darcy sighed heavily and frowned, hesitating. He growled. "Stand up, or you will have to indeed replace Selvig when I flay him alive."

"I'm standing, already," she grumbled and turned quickly to face him, slowly standing. His eyes looked more fierce than before and he was clearly infuriated with the assault from before. She looked away uneasily.

"Step forward," he growled. She drew in a sharp breath and hurried a few inches forward, staring back at him uncomfortably. He began circling her slowly as if a predator appraising a kill already made, preparing to devour it but deciding where best to begin. He stopped in front of her as she averted her gaze yet again. She would have to be a little more careful. She shouldn't have offered to take Selvig's place, not while his life was on the line, she thought. He looked her over once more. "Disrobe."

"What?!" Darcy exclaimed, folding her arms tightly around her. "No, you arrogant pervert!"

"Then perhaps you should make your way to the Tesseract and take Erik's place now," he said smoothly. She frowned and looked down, pulling her jacket off quickly. He lifted one brow. "That's a start, go on."

"Look this is ridiculous, if you want to see naked women I can show you all the porn in the world; seriously, it's all right there on the web!" she exclaimed, gesturing towards the computer and then wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "Besides, if I don't get started soon they'll have more firewalls up than Dante' running habitat for humanity!"

"You treasure your dignity, I respect that," he said slowly. He glanced down at the scepter and turned it over a few times. "But I did not tell you stop."

"I swear to God, I'm not that great to look at naked, just let me get to work!" she said looking more panicked. He grinned at the sudden surge of emotions in her. It was a powerful thing indeed to elicit any response at all in a human but to be able to elicit so incredible a response was gratifying. He smirked and circled her again. "What? What do you want from me?!"

"Your weapon," he said flatly. She stared back at him with a heavy sigh. "Or your dignity."

"That's really twisted," she replied as she feigned feeling through her jacket for the taser. She thanked every power watching over her that she had also brought her cellular phone and the men hadn't thought to search her for one. She sighed heavily, pretending to be completely inconvenienced as she pulled the phone free and turned back to him, holding it out. "Here, take it."

He remained still, watching her hold out the item towards him. He couldn't be sure that this was what she had used on him, but he couldn't allow her anything from the facility or her previous work without his supervision, so whether or not this was the weapon, he needed to remove it. He smirked and tilted his head, giving her a side glance. "No," he replied slowly. "I think I would much rather have your dignity."

"Take it or I'll use it . . . where you don't have armor," she said lifting one brow for emphasis. He chuckled and reached out, snatching the device from her. "Creep," she muttered grabbing her jacket and quickly pulling it back on.

"You're awfully bashful for a creature of your realm, most have no qualms in displaying their own flesh, marked or otherwise," he observed coolly and then gestured towards her ample bosom. "And you clearly have far more to offer."

Darcy fought away the urge to say a filthy name aloud and simply turned away, sitting back in front of the computer angrily and quickly tapping at the keyboard and shaking her head. He smirked and reached down, taking a substantial lock of her hair in his hand. It truly disturbed her to be faced with the idea of intimacy awake, though she had clearly been amorous in her dreams. He felt her tense and frown angrily as he gently allowed the hair to fall from his hand and stepped away. The words she had said were most amusing; 'show me the sunset' . . . a pathetic gesture between humans if there was anything more pathetic than their procreation. He turned and watched as she busied herself entirely with the screen. She was concerned with her own dignity but affectionate, was this conflict what had parried the energy from the scepter? He shook his head. He would discover the issue soon enough.


	6. Taikatalvi and Space Continuum

**Chapter 6: Taikatalvi and Space Continuum**

"Stop that this instant," Loki hissed as he passed by the small area where Darcy sat at work in front of a large computer. It had been hours since Dr. Selvig had experienced failure with one of the cooling units and the work with the Tesseract had practically ground to a halt, bringing the trickster into a fouler disposition than ever before. Darcy frowned at him and the humming faded away into the sounds of the rest of the subterranean complex. He had been watching her angrily, waiting. She could only guess that he was waiting for some reason to lash out at her. Clearly her humming wasn't enough to elicit that, but he was waiting for the opportunity. She shook her head and continued working. After a few moments he growled loudly enough for anyone nearby to hear him and shouted for Agent Barton to watch over her work while he saw to other matters. Darcy watched carefully as he slipped away. She sighed and watched Agent Barton took his place. She glanced back at the screen. She had made excellent progress although it had become clear to her in the process that Loki had no intention of releasing Selvig or even killing him . . . he wanted to watch suffering or humiliation or preferably both.

Barton glanced at the rest of the complex and Darcy gauged his position cautiously. Hawkeye was still in there, somewhere. If Dr. Selvig had responded to her being incapacitated the way he had then Hawkeye would surely respond to something powerful that kept the real archer in him. She turned back to the screen and smirked as she converted another set of symbols breaking down another set of defenses that would make any enemy of her nation jealous. She began the tune again that she had been humming, this time singing it instead. Being a political sciences major Darcy had been prodded with the notion of being multi-lingual repeatedly and she had fallen deeply in love with the Slavic tongues, which she knew the archer would respond to. He was rumored to have been a complete mystery to everyone at the facility save for one fact that was whispered when he was not nearby; that he and the infamous Natasha Romanoff, or Black Widow as her reputation stated, were blood brother and sister. If that was true to any degree, she could test her theory that part of these two men, the good parts of them, were still as reachable as the mainframe for S.H.I.E.L.D. and their firewalls could be broken with powerful memories.

"_Lapsistan rakkan tai taa nayattmo on, Mis kuutamo kujillan kulkee_," she sang, keeping the tune soft enough to evade the trickster's senses, she hoped, but loud enough for Barton to hear. "_Taipunut havut, kesa hoivassa sen. Valkomeren niin aavan, Joka aavekuum siivin_." She turned, still singing softly and noticed that Barton had shifted and his attention was fully on her with a look of curiosity instead of blank observation. She grinned with the last few words. "_Saapuu mut kotiin noutamaan_."

"The stage is my most precious child, moonlight dancing on its avenues," Barton muttered, translating from somewhere in his mind he had been absent for quite some time. Darcy watched him approached as he continued up to the last line and the terrifying white to his eyes faded ever so slightly into large black orbs. "With the wings of a ghost moon, it comes to take me home." He stood behind her more closely and, to her delight, the black began to turn brown, the deep hazel his eyes had naturally. "You speak Russian?"

"No," Darcy replied with a smirk. "That was Finnish."

"_Kesa_, it means the same thing in both languages, then," he said, the strange connection clearly an attempt by the proper archer to force his way back to the surface. Darcy nodded and reiterated that it meant 'kitten' in both Finnish and Russian. He nodded a little, a spark of humanity fighting its way free from the spell over him. "Kitten . . . _kesa_ . . . Natasha . . ."

"What about her?" Darcy asked carefully. She stood slowly and walked towards him, keeping their gazes locked though Barton's seemed simultaneously inwardly and outwardly affixed on everything but Darcy's stare. "Do you miss her?" He turned away for a moment, drawing in a deep breath. She grinned brightly. Hacking entire systems of databases wasn't nearly as difficult as hacking the human brain. She stepped a pace closer as he turned his head away. "Agent Barton?"

He turned back to her, the gleam of his natural eyes struggling beneath the blank surface, the cell in which Loki had imprisoned his mind. She stared at him and wondered what it would take to break the enchantment entirely. Loki had mentioned the heart. As he stared back at her, breathing heavily, the brown began to fade a little behind the emptiness. She quickly reached out and tried to place her hand over his heart where the scepter had done its work. She froze and let out a small cry as a flash of gold interrupted her movement. The scepter's tip was once again firmly pressed against Barton's chest and Darcy felt the trickster's hand grasp her shoulder tightly, painfully. Despite the panic, Darcy noted that the scepter's gem didn't force any power into him as it had done before, Loki simply pushed the man backwards with it and as Barton stepped away, the blank stare returned. Barton looked back at Loki with a frown.

"I lost my concentration, sir," he said emotionlessly.

"And I have found it for you, go back to watching the others," Loki ordered sternly. Barton nodded and turned away, heading back towards where the Tesseract still lay waiting for more complete study. Darcy remained perfectly still. She knew why the trickster was angry; the distraction made three victories on her part over him: the uselessness of the scepter, the mildest of tasings, and now she had almost destroyed the hold he had over one of his prized minions. He tightened his grip on her shoulder and began to walk away, dragging her with him. Darcy protested, reaching back towards the monitors and processors at which she promised to remain silent. "No," he said angrily. "You are dangerous while you are so intact; that must change at once. You're far too unpredictable and easily taken from your promised tasks."

"You can't afford to not know what they're doing, you still need me," Darcy protested. She knew that he could find something of a replacement for her, but that it would take time and he would have lost permanently to her those three battles. At least with her alive and serving he had a sporting chance of undoing her victories. He whirled around and glared down at her. "It's the truth. And besides, even if you do kill me now, it won't change the fact I evaded your little mind-control stick and there logically have to be others like me which means you'd lose the opportunity to learn how to deal with . . ."

"Silence!" he shouted. She froze and stared back at him uncomfortably. She shuddered a little as he reached out with his other hand and grasped her head at her chin. "You are most unfortunate to be burdened with such a strength."

"You mean the techno-savvy or the immunity to your . . . Ow!" Darcy exclaimed as he quickly released her chin, summoned the scepter, and forced the tip painfully into her sternum. "That hurts!"

"Then you are not entirely immune, are you?" he replied, unyielding in tone or posture. Darcy grunted in pain and tried to shift and release some of the pressure on her. "You are proving more of a nuisance than you claim to be worth in keeping," he said, pressing the scepter more firmly into her and causing her to cry out louder. Darcy wasn't sure the metal had cut her, but she knew she was going to have a large bruise there when he was finished. "And you have yet to complete the first part of our bargain."

"I was working on it," she whined, still trying to pull away from the item. "I'd still be working on it if we weren't going in the opposite direction."

"Not nearly fast enough," he corrected. "My allies must perform to their utmost at all times and time is of the essence in a mortal realm." She looked up at him almost pleadingly as he leaned closer. "That's an awful lot of pressure for an unfocused creature."

"It wouldn't be if you'd back up," she said, lifting a brow at him to signal two meanings not the most important of which was the fact that he was making it difficult for her to breathe past the pain in her chest. "That really hurts!"

"You cannot be easily trained," he mused as he pulled the scepter away slightly. "You will have to learn obedience . . . the hard way."

"The hard way isn't the dead way, is it?" she asked uncomfortably.

"Make one more remark and I will muzzle you again, permanently," he warned. She froze and looked away, clearly terrified at that prospect. He smiled triumphantly and led her further into the tunnels behind the main hub of activity. She glanced around the walls in terror as it became more difficult to see. As he had expected, he heard her heart begin to race and her breath grow labored as they moved further into the darkness. Fear, it was the most useful tool in controlling a crowd, but even more effectual on a singular individual. Before they strayed too far and before she began to physically fight him, he halted. She stopped beside him now clinging to his side, clutching the leather and fabric as they stood in the deep shadows. "Kneel," he ordered. Darcy looked from one side to another and then up at him, though she couldn't get a look at him well enough at all without the light. She trembled, still clinging to him. A measure of pity moved through him as the memory of being trapped in the void came to him. He reached down and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Go on, you won't fall this time."

"But I can't see," she said.

Blue light filled the tunnel from the end of the scepter. Darcy turned and stared around the cavernous hovel in wonderment. The blue light didn't change where they were or who she was with, but it was stunning, beautiful. She knelt without turning to him, glancing around in the light and taking in its presence. He watched her; irritated that she hadn't given any other defiance, a suitable reason to continue with any violence against her. She breathed deeply and watched the light slowly fade back into the gem. His senses penetrated the darkness, watching her movements as the light disappeared and she was surrounded by deafening blackness once more. Again, her heartbeat quickened as did her breathing, but she didn't seem to be as terrified now, clutching the edge of his tunic. He frowned and moved away, watching her as he took a few paces forward and left her behind. She started to stand, to move forward.

"I didn't tell you to stand," he corrected. She froze and he heard the pace in her chest quicken all the more at the thought of not only being engulfed in the darkness, but being alone. He knew he couldn't leave her alone entirely. Eventually fear would give way to survivalist instinct in a mortal and she would force her way through the darkness to escape. As long as he remained a reminder of her circumstances, she was trapped. He smirked and reveled in this power. It was more satisfying than the expressions on the agents he had taken into his service.

"You're losing time, time I could be spending getting into their system," she offered in an effort to mask her own fear.

"Time is a funny thing," he remarked, allowing a small orb of light to form on the scepter and watching as her gaze instantly turned to fixate on it entirely. He smiled at the predictable nature of this unusual human. "It can be manipulated just as easily as the mind."

"Your disco-stick does that, too?" she asked.

He laughed. "Oh, no," he replied. "_**I**_ do that." He sent the orb out from the scepter a few inches, allowing it to hover motionlessly as he watched her gaze following it carefully. Humans were drawn to light, the ones worth sparing were, anyway, the ones worth ruling. The rest, those curious enough to venture into the dark, would be destroyed. After a moment, he noticed that Darcy wasn't watching the orb anymore, she had affixed her gaze on what she could of him and she had somehow managed to move closer without his knowledge, not much further, but a fraction without his permission was too great. She was still defiant, even afraid. This was unsettling for him and frustrating all at once. He sat down a few feet away from the orb and watched her a few moments more. Time he had learned to manipulate, and space as well, but somehow this one human still managed to elude him. Once he was sure that her gaze was fixed on him, he left an image of himself in that position and transported himself to standing several paces behind her. She settled back, noting that he wasn't moving. _She's trying to manipulate you, to see how she can crawl into your plans and destroy them, that is what they do, humans, they destroy when they aren't controlled_. He breathed deeply and decided to try a deeper look at her while distracted. _She has to be subdued soon, even if it means feigning sentiment_. His reflection began what he had considered to be small-talk from his observations with the rest of the humans about the work she claimed to be doing for him. He knelt behind her, appraising her yet again.

"So why is it so important for you to be a king, anyway? If you've got all this power you can do anything . . . like anything," Darcy asked. He chuckled, still projecting his voice from the reflection. "Why don't you just use your powers to have fun? It's not like anyone's forcing you to take responsibility for a whole planet."

He noted a change in her voice and posture as she spoke the last few words. They were more interrogative in their tone and she had a decidedly inquisitive look in her eyes as she said them. Darcy did in fact mean them more as a question still wanting to know who had caused him so much pain and distress in the trance that he had been in before he had attacked her and thrown her down into the shelter. He frowned at her and glanced over the reflection of the scepter itself. "Your people need protecting, there are those that have sensed the Tesseract's presence long before I," he explained. She straightened her glasses and folded her legs up into a 'bound angle' pose with her soles touching as she folded her hands around her ankles to sit comfortably and forget any fear for the time being. "Thor believes he protects your realm by idly watching for other enemies while allowing you to destroy one another. I will protect your people from both and in exchange I ask only for what is in your nature, allegiance to a higher, nobler being."

"As a political sciences major I should probably go ahead and tell you I agree with that premise on paper, but when you put in the human factor it starts to get complicated and that even if you manage to succeed, you'll have rebellions before long since we've gotten used to our freedoms," she offered.

"Freedom is an illusion. Surely as a prisoner you understand that," he mused through the reflection. He scooted a little closer to her as she straightened her glasses once more. "You were a prisoner at the compound where I . . . discovered you. You did not come and go as you pleased nor did you have liberty to do whatever pleased you at your own leisure without fear of punishment or repercussion."

"I see what you're saying, total freedom doesn't exist. That's true," she said with a shrug. He slowly settled to sitting down behind her a few inches and continued to watch silently. She suddenly whirled around and quickly situated herself into the same position, but now facing his true image. He stared at her in amazement. "You know I can hear you breathing, right? You make noise when you breathe and even though you're careful, you're not silent when you move, either."

He narrowed his eyes at her and summoned another orb of light above them. "When did you realize the other was false?" he asked. She grinned and rocked back and forth ever so slightly, suppressing the urge to giggle at getting the better of him yet again.

"A little before you asked me what 'prompted me to work with advanced sciences instead of bearing children and feeding them as I was clearly shaped to do' and you confirmed it a little after I answered," she admitted. He stared at her more closely; anger subsided entirely in the name of curiosity. "You make a weird, whispering sound breathing when the other version of you is speaking."

"And yet you remained speaking to me without letting on," he remarked. "That was clever of you."

"I've really stumped you, haven't I?" she laughed. He didn't seem as menacing when he wasn't angry. In fact, like this, in the few quiet moments she had seen him at ease, he was charming. "It just eats at you that can't understand me. I bet you have been completely frustrated by women in general. You probably didn't have a girlfriend until you were in your, um, thousands or something."

"An unfair observation given that you know nothing of my lifespan or courtship habits," he replied. "You know that you will not escape, and that you will not live through thoroughly infuriating me and yet you see nothing wrong with some provocation."

"You pushed, I pushed back," she said with a shrug. "You liked it or you would've killed me so I know I can do that as long as I stop just shy of you popping my head like a grape."

"And you'll always be able to know when that is?" he asked with a grin.

"I'm pretty good at reading people, like you are only without any super powers," she said. He shook his head and looked away, the stillness of time making him far more at ease with her. "You know, you're a lot more, um," she said, moving both hands around as she tried to complete the sentence most effectively. "More, um, intellectual than your brother."

"That is an egregious understatement," he replied.

"I was the smart one in my family, too," she replied proudly. "Four sisters, all beauty queens and cheer-leaders married in their 20's and driving mini-vans full of kids."

He laughed and held the time around them more still. He could only do this for so long with a mortal, but perhaps while she had a false sense of companionship with him she might be more easily understood and then unmade. "You have no intention of merely completing the task you promised do you?"

"I never claimed to be just at one task," she said. "You have no intention of letting Dr. Selvig go, do you?"

He looked back at her indignantly placing a hand at his chest. "I made a bargain with you, he will be free to go if he chooses," Loki replied, sounding hurt by the remark. "I vow to you to permit him to leave the very moment you complete your task."

Darcy lifted a brow at him. "But you think choice is a lie," she countered.

"No, I believe freedom is a lie," he replied. "And you never asked for me to release him from the Tesseract's power, only my own."

"That's true," Darcy admitted, now thinking that if she had been able to get so far with Agent Barton, then she might be able to do the same with Dr. Selvig or even Barton if she got another chance. "That is what I asked for."

"Do you know yet how you plan to force an escape after you're finished? I might not have full sway over you, but you are easy to predict and read as most humans, and most females, are," he replied with a charming grin. "Planning to distract me, wound me, or wait until I fall asleep?"

"You sleep?" Darcy asked, pretending to sound surprised. The two laughed, hiding their thoughts and real frustrations and fears from the other with this simple banter and forced close proximity. "So is time back to normal yet or what's happening that's made you more easy to talk to?"

"Time stands where I hold it," he replied. "For now, it will return to its proper place, and so will you, in a matter of hours."

"If you could hold onto time long enough I could probably get you into the entire security system for the department of defense in at least half the developed world," she offered, wondering if using this kind of power would weaken him enough to allow her time and presence to escape. He smirked, sensing that this was her motivation as well.

"It is unwise to disrupt such things for very long with small exceptions like you aware of it," he said flatly. Loki glanced over at the girl and smirked. He glanced over at the orb and felt a strange sense of exhaustion moving through him with the slower passing of time. He could sleep without losing much time now. "I need to rest before I can act further, the journey was tiring enough and having to watch after you all the more trying," he announced. She shrugged once more. Loki gauged her thoughts for the moment and she was gauging whether or not he was earnestly weakened and tired. She was far too much work to allow out of his sight for the time being, but she was still a fairly challenging puzzle that infuriated him enough to be amusing. He smirked and gestured towards her. "You look weary, child. You will sleep a while as well," he said. Darcy frowned at him, replying that she was fine after the vitamin boost she had been given. He sighed and reached for her. "I'm afraid that wasn't a suggestion. We will speak further as you dream," Darcy scooted backwards as he leaned for her. He gave her a look of confusion still reaching for her. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one. Hold still and this won't hurt," he commanded.

"Could you at least wait until I'm comfortable?" she complained, pulling away from his hand and sighing. "Honestly, it's like you think I already know how to get out and take your stuff with me."

"You think yourself trustworthy or do you think me that naïve? Whether or not you know where you are going, a desperate mortal will bolt regardless of direction," he replied as she leaned back against the wall. "Very much like a spooked horse."

"I'm not that desperate," she replied. "Besides, you've got powers that would still be able to find me and bring me back for whatever it is you want me for after you've figured me out."

"Well, then," he mused. "You are indeed intelligent." She allowed his hand to softly touch the side of her head and she felt overwhelmed. Her eyes fluttered as she leaned back and gave in to a sound sleep. "Even for a human. Now let us discover what creates that in a more natural setting." He closed his eyes and reached down for her right hand, grasping it gently as he drew in a breath. He concentrated all his energy on slipping fully into her subconscious. This would prove most amusing given the simplicity and yet diverting imagery humans kept around them at all times even in the poorest of settings. _Perhaps_, he thought to himself as he slipped into a sound sleep and moved his consciousness into hers, _that kind of innovative nature protects her_.


	7. Thunder in The Soul's Midnight

**Chapter 7: Thunder in The Soul's Midnight**

It occurred to Darcy as she slipped into a very strange dream that she would not be alone and she wondered if this was what it was like to be dead; to be with a guide or an inquisitive spirit and completely detached from physical form or mortal limitations. She glanced around a blank and verdant landscape underneath a dismal gray sky. Well, dismal to some; Darcy had preferred the rain and the unique grayness and smell accompanying it. She rubbed her shoulders and heard a faint and wonderful sound in the distance' calliope music. She turned and saw a large, ornate painted sign of gold and blue that read 'Carnival Ego: This Way'. The calliope music faded and she thought she felt the world shift beneath her as the sign suddenly, inexplicably, circled around on its posts revealing the back. The back appeared to be an entirely different sign shaped like an enormous octagon; this one was red with black trim and read 'Museum of Desires: That Way'. She straightened her glasses and furrowed her brow as the sign turned yet again this time appearing to be a large Sanskrit tapestry in technicolor that she recognized as reading 'Chakra Centers: Next 7 Exits'. She sighed and realized that she must've been deep within the vast plane, appearing as a wide open plain, in her subconscious.

"No sense in just standing around," she announced to herself without even speaking it aloud really. She began walking towards another area and thought to herself about what must've been transpiring. If Loki wanted a look around inside her head, heart, and soul, then why was she alone at the moment? Was he invisible to her while she was within her own existence? As she walked, the ground shifted and every few yards a hill would form with reminders about things she had been thinking about either painted on similar signs or appearing as odd symbolic images including a donkey and an elephant in grand suits of armor fighting while the statue of liberty tried to call out rules and assure a fair fight. She stopped and watched as eventually the statue got frustrated and used her enormous torch to hit both creatures on the head. She chuckled as they fell to the ground and the statue cheered while a typical boxing bell sounded. "Oh yeah, I've still got to re-register to vote this time."

(*)

Loki opened his eyes and the darkness that had surrounded him faded. It had struck him for a fleeting moment that perhaps the whole incident on Midgard had been a dream, another heinous lie presented to him as truth by those that had taken him captive during the last part of his exile. He drew in a deep breath as the same verdant landscape that Darcy was seeing spread out before him, although he didn't see her. The open land confused him. He was within the mind of a mortal . . . and it was this vast? There had to be some kind of mistake or a ruse of some sort. He groaned and searched the landscape for some way to discern where he was going and where he was at the moment. He couldn't place it, but part of him felt lighter, smaller, and simpler here. It must've been the mortality of the girl, a natural sense of inferiority. He jumped backwards a pace as the ground in front of him burst open and an enormous sign, tall and wide all at once, shot upward in front of him and leaned over him as if it was a living entity. The sign was enormous but had only one sentence in the center of it that confused him all the more.

_**What do you want? **_The sentence was fully centered and the sign seemed to be breathing as it loomed over him. He furrowed his brow at it and turned to walk in the other direction. He froze as he saw that the sign was behind him now and the space he had been facing was clear. He turned back to the sign and noticed that the sentence had changed. _**I said, what do you want?**_ He thought to himself about how she had managed to evade the scepter's effects, recover quickly, and almost beak the hold on Barton. The sign shifted as the words _**'I don't know.'**_ appeared on it. He took a step backwards and frowned, growling a little. _**'I can't know; I don't even know what your scepter is, Loki.'**_ His eyes widened in amazement. _**'Thor talked about you a lot, that's how I know your name.'**_ He breathed deeply and clenched one hand into a fist. He turned and cursed inwardly at her continued defiance. He would have to deeper somehow, to move past her personality. _**'That's impossible. No human is separate from their personality, it's not an individual entity it's the part of us that you experience and observe.'**_

"Do not argue with me woman," he growled. His voice, he realized, it was different somehow. He glanced to either side and tried to get a good look at the rest of himself, but it seemed like concentrating enough on it was impossible. He knew he was alive, intact, and clothed, but he couldn't clearly see himself. He huffed and turned around repeatedly, trying to look downward and to either side to get some glimpse of what he looked like, what was different, but he couldn't see clearly. "Why in the nine realms can't you just focus, woman? This must be your doing!"

"Hello?" he suddenly heard Darcy's voice call. He froze. The sign was gone now, but why had it even appeared if Darcy was here in sentient form? He turned toward the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. He sighed. Perhaps she might be more easily directed to speak succinctly and guide him to the truth. He suddenly spotted an odd hill forming to his left and a patch of large purple blossoms on it that spelled out _**'I **__**truly**__** don't know.'**_ as he stared at it. He took a step towards it as the flowers spread back out and slowly sank into the ground. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" he called. He turned around once more, trying to discern her position and the sound her voice was making as it eerily echoed throughout the atmosphere. His senses were no longer the ones governing his perception, he realized. This had been a mistake; even with all of his powers the rules of existence changed while within the mind of another. He glanced around, still determined to discover what was protecting her even if it meant sacrificing a modicum of dignity or time while trapped here. He recalled her name, the name that Selvig had given him and that Barton had confirmed. "Darcy?"

"Who's there?" she called once more.

"It's me, you half-wit, now show yourself at once or pay dearly when we are once again freed of this present state!" he shouted furiously. There was certainly something wrong with his voice like this, although there was a sense of familiarity to it. He tried once more, furiously, to see what he looked like, for more than a fleeting gaze at himself directly or a reflective surface of ANY kind. No luck at all. He groaned and turned, staring at the figure of Darcy standing only a few yards away, staring at him in disbelief. He sighed. "There you are. I was afraid you might be a disembodied voice for the rest of this awful journey."

"Who are you?" she asked softly. She stared at him in an odd combination of curiosity, confusion, and slight admiration. He frowned. She seemed taller from a distance which must have been another oddity about this place. He stared back in anger and confusion. "You're not my Id, are you?"

"Your what?" he asked.

"My Id . . . the immature, self-serving part of me that urges me on instinctively while fighting with the Ego," she explained. "The Id would've known what it was. At least, I think it would." He glared at her and moved closer, disturbed that the illusion of her distance and size weren't changing. "You're not some kind of unresolved issues with men being inferior are you?"

"What are you talking about, you fool?" he hissed back. Darcy stared more closely at him, furrowing her own brow and straightening her glasses.

"Loki?" she asked. He growled softly and folded his arms. "Is that you?"

"Why are you staring at me like that, mortal, don't you recognize me?" he asked angrily. Darcy stared back at him and he suddenly realized that aside from the landscape seeming much larger and the objects appearing enormous, Darcy appeared to be much . . . taller regardless of where she stood. This was no illusion, he was smaller. He took a step backwards. "What's happened? Something's wrong."

"Aw, are you scared? Is that why you look so young?" she asked innocently.

"Young?" he asked in astonishment. Darcy pointed behind him and he turned. A mirror had suddenly appeared, framed by gold-work that had images of cherubs and other simpering mortal décor. He glanced at the silvery surface and gasped. "No, this can't be." His appearance would've been easily recognizable by Frigga and Odin as well as Thor, but now he could clearly see why it had confused Darcy. This was his form as child, a young boy of maybe 7 years old by human reckoning. He had been most uncertain, most frightened of the world at this age; he remembered it well. He stared back at her in shock laced with fear. "This is impossible!"

"You're adorable!" Darcy exclaimed moving closer behind him. He turned to her in disbelief and horror. "Oh my goodness, I bet you got away with everything when you were a kid! Look at you, you're so cute!"

"This is your doing!" he shouted and pointed at her accusingly. She folded her hands in front of her face admiring him like a young mother appraising the child of another woman. "You've tricked me! This is not what I . . ." He glared at her as she continued looking him over with a glowing smile. "When you have quite finished whatever it is you're gawking at," he snarled angrily. "You did this deliberately, to sort out my weaknesses!"

"What? Why would I even do that? How could I do that?" Darcy exclaimed, raising both arms in exasperation. "You know you really keep going back and forth on this, one minute mortals are weak, the next minute you are . . ."

"I am not weak," he hissed back. She bent forward, both hands on her knees as she looked deeply into his eyes. "So you can stop this pathetic charade this instant! Show me what protects you from the scepter; I refuse to think you so ignorant in the deepest part of your consciousness!"

"Fine," she said, taking a step back. "Have it your way, go ahead, you're an adult." She stared at him. He folded his arms sternly and waited, but she remained taller and he could tell nothing had changed. She gave a false angered face back at him. "What's the matter, grumpy? Can't grow up on your own?"

"Undo whatever magic you are using!" he shouted.

"This isn't me, little man," she said casually. "Trust me if I had turned you into something it would've been a lot older, a lot hotter, and probably a lot easier to talk to. This? This is all you."

"This is not me!" he whined loudly. "And you still haven't answered me . . . what protects you?"

"Um," she said, moving forward. He stepped back indignantly a pace, but then allowed her to measure the difference in their heights mockingly and hold the measurement up using both hands. "I'm this much more mature than you are, maybe? I mean, you didn't take any women's minds, maybe it doesn't work on girls because you still think we're icky."

"Your insolence is positively intolerable!" he raved. "This is madness, how could this happen?!"

"Hey, you're the one who wandered into my wonderland, you're the one at fault for your own disappointments," she countered, raising both hands defensively. "I kind of live here."

"Then this is how you perceive me," he said almost bitterly. "You think me a child, incapable . . ."

"I wish," she retorted with a laugh, folding her arms. "Maybe deep down you still feel like one, that's why you appear this way subconsciously."

"Don't you analyze me, it is above you," he snapped.

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, I know you're pissed and all, but I can't be mad at you like this," she said gesturing to him. He growled and balled both hands into fists, remembering well being mocked as a child and feeling the same disdain now. "You are just so cute. You got away with murder, didn't you, green eyes?"

"I didn't murder anyone, if humans perished it was their fault for not following proper directions!" he protested, thinking that perhaps she was referring to the departure from the complex that had been destroyed. He frowned at her as she grinned more brightly.

"Wow, and you're so literal about everything," she muttered. "I meant you could get away with anything, any kind of well, naughty things as a kid like this. How could anyone be angry at that face?"

"My parents managed, father mostly," he admitted and then shook himself. That was neither pertinent nor public. This was most definitely an attempt to weaken him and so far she was winning. Perhaps she wasn't really human, he thought. Perhaps she was some kind of entity that his father had sent to distract him or mock him. Perhaps she was one of the last surviving supernatural creatures that hadn't fled Midgard when humans began to produce and reproduce en masse. He glared at her. "Very well, then. If I cannot discover what I need here, then perhaps you will be more revealing under pain of torture."

"Oh, go right ahead," Darcy laughed looking back at him in amusement. "I'll spit something out, something to make you stop, but it won't be the truth because _**I . . . don't . . . know . . . why**_. Alright? I am just as much in the dark in that respect as you are, tiger."

"Stop referring to me with your ridiculous childish terms!" he said stomping once for emphasis as he used to. The habits and emotions of his appearance were taking over and he trembled inwardly at thinking whatever power she was using was taking further effect. He had to awaken, immediately. To his dismay, he found that he was powerless to do so. _You crept into her mind, you fool. There is no leaving until she is awakened and you are released_, he chastised inwardly. _You would do better to imprison her and wait for the rest of the plan to unfold_.

"Look, maybe because you fixated on something about your childhood or talking about your brother took you back a few years, but this is really not my doing, any of it. I am going that way until this dream ends which I hope is in like five years after I find a cute guy and we end up in Paris. So whatever you want to do, wherever you want to look, I think the personality traits and the psyche parts are clearly marked on the map," she said gesturing back to the enormous wooden and steel sign. He frowned and then turned back to her, glaring. "In the meantime, if I were you, I'd probably go and look more at my actual brain chemistry and physiological make-up. You can do that awake, right? Just knock yourself out with that because there aren't likely to be any answers here."

"I have already thoroughly examined you and found you quite common," he spat back.

Darcy lifted one brow at him and folded her arms. "Really? You want common dignity and a commoner is this much of a diversion for you?" she asked sarcastically. He growled. She laughed and looked back at him in amusement. "Come on, you didn't think there wouldn't be any problems at all, did you? What was your contingency plan if a human or something got out of hand?"

"Destroy them," he replied flatly.

"Well that didn't work for you, not for everything," she corrected. "You know that once you're into their system and have a good look at what they're doing it's only a matter of time before someone else finds you unless you have someone like me keeping them away digitally."

"If you are implying that you are indesposable, mortal, then you are dead wrong," he growled. "I could do just as well without you."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining," she replied with a wink. "Besides, you mentioned you think having me will get you closer to Jane. That might be true with Dr. Selvig as one of your minions, but I don't think you've seen the relationship I had with her." Darcy pointed to another section of the landscape. "And those memories are that way, left at the hippocampus, bud."

"I hate you right now," he snarled, something he had said to his brother when infuriated once. The result was a fight that had incapacitated both of them quite badly and led to Frigga ordering that the word be expunged from their vocabularies, permanently. "Now, release me from whatever it is you've done!"

"Fine, you don't believe me," she said letting her arms drop in frustration. She turned and began to walk away.

He growled more loudly. "How dare you leave while I am speaking to you! I am not to be trifled with!" he shouted. She shrugged and continued to walk. He thought for a moment. _Don't fight with her, it's what she wants_, something else told him. _She seemed diverted at the thought of you as a child, use that_. The notion that she might give away her secret under this kind of guise was a long shot, but until the spell he had cast over the time and space of earth faded and the two awoke, it was what would be best until he could manage to transform back or find a place where she didn't perceive him this way. _If it is indeed her perception_, another voice reminded him. There were so many things to listen to internally this deep in the mind and part of him was loathing it. _Perhaps in feeling so confused your allowance for vulnerability did this_.

Darcy suddenly turned back to him several feet away. "You're just going to stand there all angry? Really?" she shouted.

"I can accomplish what I need with or without your presence fully," he announced and turned to walk in the other direction, towards her deeper memories. As he turned he came face to face with her more fully and let out a small cry. She had either somehow magically appeared there or had left a decoy to distract him as he had done. _She might just be taking in everything you do, learning all that you have shown_, another voice said skeptically. _She is a spy, perhaps, and that is easily dealt with provided you don't continue to display anything in front of her_. Regardless of the reason or means, it had caught him by surprise, a difficult feat for anyone, and he jumped back a pace.

"Boo!" she shouted playfully. He growled at her as she giggled. "Wow, I can totally mess with you right now and there's nothing you can do about it. Not a thing."

"Even if that is so, and it is not, when we awaken I will make you pay for every ounce of disrespect," he said as sternly as if he were in his true form. This only served to amuse her all the more. "And furthermore as a mortal there is little you can do to me, even vulnerable, that would do any real harm."

"What's with you? Why would I want to harm you? That's messed up and there's no fun in that, that's not even something that would cross my mind with you as grown-up. Well, okay, maybe with you as a grown-up because you are kind of creep, but not here, not like this," she said, still smiling. "And you never had any sisters, so you are completely at a loss right now whereas I, who had sisters at your age, would not be."

"You're incorrigible," he said hotly and tried to move past her. To his surprise, she quickly wrapped both arms firmly around him. "Let go of me!"

"No, this is what you need. This what everyone's inner-child needs and after you've had it maybe you'll stop blowing things up as an adult," she corrected, pulling him into an unwanted embrace. He growled and struggled against her. "Hey, if you kick me, I'll . . ."

"You'll what?" he growled, glaring hatefully into her eyes. She wasn't going to be swayed here, either, and it didn't look at all as though he would easily find answers. Mortals were too disorganized, to complex inwardly, for even their own kind to grasp and Darcy must've been more vast than most which was something he certainly wasn't going to admit to. This was not at all a pleasant or easy scenario for him and even the thought of using his age to manipulate her was too overwhelmingly beneath him at the moment. She froze and stared back at him a little confused. He tried to pull free now that she had relented pulling him as close, but only prompted her to hold tighter yet again. "Urgh! Let go of me!"

"I don't think you understand, this is my mind . . . and you couldn't take over from out there, what makes you think you going to take over from in here especially like this?" she asked, gripping him closer. "Besides, I'm not hurting you."

"Yes, you are, your impudence is painful," he retorted. "You are beneath me."

"Oh really?" she asked. She reached down and poked him gently at his left side. He froze and giggled, a more powerful surge of anger moving through him at this. Darcy recognized the reaction and continued. Mission accomplished for the time being. He growled a little despite giggling and tried to turn to face her, only finding it more difficult with the grip her opposite arm held him in. "I don't think that's accurate, because if you were above me, I couldn't do this." She tickled him a little on the right side as he was defending the left causing him to cry out and laugh more loudly. "I knew it! I knew you were ticklish!"

"S-s-stop it! Now!" he shouted before letting out a humiliating peal of laughter. "This is undignifi-hi-hi-hi-ied!"

"Uh huh, and you're the one that just had to get into my head. What were you expecting? You're on someone else's terms in their mind," she corrected, now purposefully tickling him at either side alternately and beneath either arm until she finally wrestled him to the ground. Having been on the receiving end of much of her sibling's playfulness as a child, it was empowering to be on the giving end, made more so by the fact that this was her captor in waking hours. "Everything about you is cute like this! You're probably not as ticklish when you're older are you, or are you?"

"I am not . . . eeek!" he began to protest as she broadened her scope and caught him behind the ear. "No, stop it, ple-hee-hee-hee-ease!"

"Not a chance," she countered. With the flood of ideas and emotions between the two, a storm had begun to form overhead. A loud crash of thunder interrupted the two and the trickster instinctively sat forward and took hold of her as tightly as he could. Darcy put her arms around him just as quickly, hearing his heart beating rapidly and as loud as the thunder a moment before. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. The storm overhead rumbled once more, a great deal louder the second time. He panted and held onto her more tightly, the inner phobia of thunder itself too great to ignore. "Calm down, it's just thunder; it's not the end of the world."

"There is lightning, where there is thunder there is lightning," he muttered, his eyes clenched shut and some sensible part of him cursing this deep-seeded fear. "I hate lightning," he said with a low growl fading into a pained whimper. "And I am not overly fond of what follows."

"That's kind of a shame what with your brother . . ." the storm roared yet again and Darcy felt him begin to tremble. It was more than sad to see a child cowering in fear, but the fact that she knew as an adult he was so damaged made this all the more pathetic. She sighed and thought about appearing under an awning of some kind, hoping she had the capability to do that in dreams. To her relief that was something she could easily do and the two arrived just in time for the rain to begin. She sighed heavily and pulled him to her, cradling his head gently against her chest. Her heartbeat was still soothing, still as mesmerizing as all mortals' were. "It's okay. You're safe." She softly stroked the back of his head as the storm continued and he laid against her silently. She glanced down at him and frowned. "You should wake up if this is really bothering you."

"I can't, not like this, not while you're asleep," he admitted, clinging to her as he had remembered doing once with his mother during a powerful storm. There had been few storms in Asgard and the one time he had experienced the full onslaught of a storm like this, Frigga had been rooms away. He remembered cowering in his own quarters, crying and trying to blot out the fear hiding beneath the enormous bed. Thor had heard the sound of his brother lamenting and came immediately. He hadn't been as able to contain the elements in their youth and, while fascinated with them, had been sympathetic to the younger's fear. A part of him ached terribly at remembering the older taking him into an embrace similar to this one and assuring him that he would never let him come to harm, ever. Things had been simpler then, under the lies and pretense. He almost missed that about the world he had left behind and sobbed a little in her arms. "Just make it go away."

"I've tried, I think this is something I can't control," she replied, adjusting her glasses and patting his back affectionately. "Don't worry, you're safe."

"I'm not afraid," he asserted, more to himself than to her as he continued to try and forget the sounds and the cold of the storm. He resigned himself to simply continuing with the plan upon awakening. As diverting and as infuriating as Darcy's victories had been, minor victories, he would be made too vulnerable in her eyes. He thought for a moment. Her eyes . . . no, he didn't have to take her mind entirely, he could simply create an illusion to the others to seem as if she had been. Her pleas and protests would fall on deaf ears if she appeared to be in the service of the enemy regardless of whether or not she truly was. He breathed deeply at this relief in this option and leaned against her, wrapping his arms tightly around her and pulling her close as he tried to block out another crash of thunder. "I'm not afraid."

"It's okay to be scared of some things," Darcy said as she looked down at the practically infantile version of her captor. She gripped his shoulder affectionately and placed her arms casually around him. "I'm afraid of the dark, remember?"

"I remember," he said, his mind fading into a memory.

Darcy wondered what there was to his fear, how it had manifested itself at this age, and what the reaction of his brother, thunder's namesake, had been. She shifted and watched in amazement as her questions were fully answered. He might not have been able to ascertain anything from her entirely, but being in her reality gave her the rights to anything she genuinely wanted. The world around them shifted and she was no longer seated with him curled up around her. The world had slowly rippled with the green turning yellow and then deep, rich gold hues. The grass became solid surfaces and the empty landscape a well-furnished room that belonged in a sweeping era long before the 21st century and that man had never truly seen. She heard a young voice calling her captor's name and she followed it around a few objects to where a large bed stood in the room. She watched as a blonde-haired young boy slipped under the bed. She knelt and watched the scene unfold.

"Brother?" the blonde called. Darcy recognized the accent, though the voice was much, much younger, as belonging only to Thor. He crawled up to where his brother sat, knees curled tightly up at his chest and head buried against them. He knelt in front of the youth and frowned. "It's the storm, isn't it? It frightened you." Loki said nothing as Thor moved to sit beside him. "Mother and father are on Midgard. She left Salgi as your nursemaid, you should go to her," he offered placing a hand on his brother's shoulder tenderly. "She'll comfort you until you aren't afraid anymore."

"I am not afraid!" Loki shouted defensively, still trembling from the crash of thunder that had led him to this position to begin with. A louder crash shook the scene that unnerved even Darcy. She closed her eyes for a beat and smiled brightly at the sight that met her when she opened them. Loki was curled around his brother instead now, head buried in the blonde's shoulder. "Make it stop, Thor, just make it go away."

"I can't, not yet," Thor replied sadly. "I'll know how someday, father says so," he added, placing both arms more tightly around his sibling, and leaning into him. "But by then you won't need me for that."

"I'll always need you," Loki corrected, closing his eyes. "Always."

"Not because you're afraid," Thor interjected, glancing out seemingly towards Darcy. "Not afraid of thunder, but lightning . . ." he said, somehow meant toward her.

She scooted away slowly and the room began to fade into darkness. She drew in a deep breath and shook herself, realizing that the cold she felt now was no illusion, no metaphor for distance in some dream world. She was awake. She could hear Loki's breath beside her. She heard him stir and the scepter's end lit brightly as he sat upright. He turned to her with a look of faded terror slowly becoming a triumphant grin. Her heart sank and then began to beat furiously as she realized that while he didn't have the very answer he wanted from her, he had come to some awful conclusion and she was now unable to find out what it was at all before it was too late. _It's a shame I can't project my own pulse_, she thought. _This is loud enough to frighten even you . . . just like the thunder_.


	8. A Message From the Other Side

**Chapter 8: A Message From the Other Side**

Darcy swallowed hard and gazed back at him blankly. He smirked at the loss on her features and reached forward, taking a strand of her hair in one hand, pulling it in front of her and admiring its softness in his fingers. She drew in a deep breath as he stared back into her eyes and chuckled before releasing the strands. "It seems such a pity for a creature like you to defy the service of a king when it would clearly please such a spritely mortal to be taken away from the images of girlhood," he mused, gazing back at her with more than a measure of triumph. He not only felt like gloating at the moment given the plan he had finally concocted to control her dealings with the rest of her kind for the moment, but also in the emotions that seemed to stir and groan within her at the mention of full intimacy. She was clearly inexperienced given the images he had seen within her and the girlish nature of her deepest instincts, but that could be easily remedied and she seemed practically terrified that it would happen without her allegiance to him. This was most satisfying regardless of her state. "But for now you are a pawn, not suited for such things."

"Chess in sexy talk, that's one I've never thought of before," she commented, masking her relief from the fear.

"You've never really thought before, that much is clear," he added as he stood and watched her. "You were completely vacant of any significant thought, but what a wealth of emotion, easily manipulated," he observed arrogantly. Darcy groaned and continued trying to stand. A sharp pain moved through her chest and she shook it away. There must've been a residual bruise from the scepter. Impatiently, he reached down, grasping her firmly by the shoulder and pulling her towards him. "Get up."

"You know, that's a really hurtful and untrue thing to say to someone who you've just seen inside and out. I am a host of symbols and power that you didn't get," she replied, pushing his arm away as he stood. "I am standing up, already, get off."

"Do not ever push me away again, mortal," he said slowly and angrily. She stared back at him frowning as she realized that he was angered most by the fact that she was still unchanged by him and still able to function even after being frightened. He took her by the arm once more and began to lead them back to the master-system. "Finish your work," he said as he tossed her back toward the computers. Darcy caught herself and suddenly felt a huge swelling of pain in her chest. She groaned and clutched at her sternum instinctively, crying out all the louder now that she had discovered that touching it was more painful. He moved forward once again and stood behind her. "What insolence makes you hesitate now?"

"It hurts . . . my chest," she muttered, a little out of breath after the pain had set in.

He frowned and it occurred to him that he had wounded her, a small wound, but clearly deep enough to cause her to be more affected than he had considered. She had told him pressing the scepter into her chest had caused great pain twice. Clearly it had left an impression if not a contusion as well. He sighed and decided it would be relatively easy to simply make the gesture of healing her than to let her continue whining unabated for any period of time. He grasped the end of the scepter, summoning magic as well and using the force of the gem to concentrate quickly. Darcy turned and glanced up as his fingertips glowed bright blue. He reached out for her and she found herself frozen in curiosity as he firmly caught her by the shoulder and stood behind her before slipping the glowing hand down over the wound beneath her clothing. She gasped and continued to remain frozen as a burst of cool, soothing energy formed around the pain and dismissed it instantly. It faded into the warmth of his hand and Darcy could hear the broad grin forming on the trickster's features as he pressed his hand more deeply against her. He grinned brightly at the feel of her warmth and rapid heartbeat. Now that he thought about it, it would be most amusing to play with a few women using his natural and acquired talents.

"Loki, is your hand down my shirt longer than it needs to be?" she asked as calmly as possible.

He smirked. "Not at all," he lied.

"Oh, really?" she continued, anger rising in her still quivering voice. Afraid of him or not she still had her dignity no matter how badly he wanted it. "You want to tell me why it's still there?"

"Early detection," he mused, leaning down to her as he withdrew it, lingering with his hand on her shoulder and slightly brushing her neck for a moment. "A key factor in survival from what I have heard."

"Great, you've seen the posters for October," Darcy muttered. "Now make sure you don't get hurt in the fight against cancer. My birthday's July 20th and Cancer's jonesing to fight back."

"So be it," he said with a laugh, holding both hands up innocently. "I care not."

Darcy shook her head and turned back to the screen as he walked away. Once he was completely out of view she opened one of the last primitive means of electronic communication that existed before social media . . . the instant message. She knew that Jane wouldn't be at her computer at this hour, nor would she respond; but Jane would see it within a few hours and she would most certainly convey the information to the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. She grinned and began typing, glancing around anxiously to make sure she wasn't being watched. It took several moments longer than she remembered this type of conversing having to its credit. She huffed as every few seconds the screen would freeze and the processor groan from the multiplicity of open programs and the complexity of American communications. It was a wonder she could accomplish anything with these, but it was the most she could do to keep herself useful while still keeping close to Selvig. She prayed earnestly, promising all manner of moral behavior and sacrifices if the screen hurried before Loki returned. To her relief it only took a total of fifteen minutes and he stayed cautiously away. As soon as she saw him nearing once more her stomach sank and she quickly busied herself once more with the security program, narrowing her eyes at the screen as she made herself look as busy as possible.

"The gala will be held this evening," she heard Barton's voice announce from a short distance away. He would bring the archer with him; he wanted her to be as intimidated as possible and showing her the failure on her part did just that as she felt a wave of nausea move over her at hearing Barton's voice cold and void of his normal caustic tone. "We will be ready to relocate shortly before then. Only a few hours or so."

"In the meantime, let us see where the enemy awaits," he mused and turned to Darcy as she sat facing away. "Progress?"

"Almost in," Darcy said softly. She smirked at the last code left to break. _Piece of cake, it's no wonder Assange got in with no problems,_ she thought to herself. She finished the last few complicated lines and congratulated herself as the screen flashed a bright blue with white letters and the eagle symbol reading: Access Granted. She sighed and gestured to the screen. "There it is," she said smiling. Loki moved forward followed closely by Barton as they watched the monitor. "All done."

Before the trickster could comment the screen suddenly shifted and began to show interference patterns and static like an old television. Darcy stared at it unhappily and began quickly typing in a series of quick commands. To her dismay none of them worked. The image of Nick Fury suddenly flashed on the screen. Darcy froze. This was pre-recorded, but it was definitely not just a Jpeg and was most certainly not a good sign. She drew in a deep breath as Loki took another step forward and glared at the screen. Fury glared back through the monitor.

"Oh, (expletive) no! I know you did not just try and hack my system, mother . . ." the image of Fury shouted indignantly. Darcy blinked in disbelief at it. She had done everything, conquered every code . . . what else was there? How had he managed a secondary override of her request with all other defenses down? She stared at the screen in horror as Loki stared in amazement and curiosity at the image beside Barton who folded his arms and watched the familiar sight emotionless. "That's you, isn't it, Loki? I knew you'd try something like this, you green-eyed (expletive). Yeah, that's right I update this message every mother-loving hour on the mother (expletive) hour! Here, let me show you something," he said sternly as the screen began to shift uncontrollably. "You see this? You took out my communications equipment for the update initiative. Now I gotta film this on a (expletive) dang cell phone!"

"Really he's going to say 'dang' after everything else?" Barton muttered.

Loki turned and glared at him momentarily as the image of Fury continued to shift until they seemed to be staring out into the sky. "You want my position? Here it is, scum bag, up yours, that's where my position is. And let me tell you something else if you think I'm angry now, go ahead and blow something else up! I dare you to do it so I can show you what's under this eye patch!"

Loki turned to Barton instinctively. "I don't know, he's never showed me," the archer replied instinctively.

"And Barton I know you're there right now. Who the (expletive) lets another man from another (expletive) dang planet grab them by the wrist? You prom night sissy," Fury raved. Darcy's jaw dropped at this and Loki's eyes widened. "This ain't on me, Barton, it's all you. When you're back to yourself, you're gonna be a whole lot more careful with where you reach for a gun in the future!"

"Sir, we have their position," a voice from off screen announced. Darcy recognized the voice even as the camera angle turned to glare and film angrily at the suited man. Darcy's heart began to race at the thought of them having the location, but she reminded herself that the program seemed pre-recorded and that by this time they surely would've had the technology to track the bursts of energy from the Tesseract making her fears at this point irrelevant in that regard.

"Coulson, when I want you to speak while I am updating I'll give you the script in advance, do you hear me?!" Fury shouted. Coulson's image looked away sheepishly muttering 'yes, sir' as the angle shifted. Fury's angle turned away as he continued muttering. "Tell him I know where he is, like he don't already know I know where he is."

"Sir, tell him we're getting ready to dispatch another . . ." a woman's voice announced. The camera shifted and focused on a woman with dark hair pulled back and in full S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform.

"Hill, when I want you to give me cues I'll put a (expletive) dang teleprompter on your monitor!" Fury shot back quickly. "Everybody acting like it's okay to interrupt me now just because some prissy alien nobody comes walking in to my (expletive) dang operation through my (expletive) dang equipment and destroys my (expletive) dang reputation with the (expletive) dang World Security Council in one (expletive) dang hour!"

"Wow, that's a record number of swears in one sentence without using anything over PG-13," Darcy said, sure that Loki was too intelligent to fall for the notion that their position had actually been compromised. She turned and glanced at his expression fixed in horror and hatred at Fury. She frowned and slunk back down in the chair as it became clear he wasn't convinced that the video was not a live feed itself.

"You see that out there? Yeah, I'm talking to you, green eyes," Fury said turning the camera back out to the enormous window on their vessel. "That's where I'm headed. Right for your (expletive) dang . . ."

Loki quickly reached out and fired a small measure of energy into the monitor. Darcy shrieked and jumped backwards in her chair as the rest of the monitors in the system also fizzled and some exploded entirely. She covered her head and bent forward as the sounds of the explosions ceased. She shuddered madly as she felt his hand clamp down on the back of her head. This was it, she thought. She was going to die and Dr. Selvig would be killed in the service of this moody kidnapper. She thought back to the last few minutes and, for reasons she couldn't explain, the last few lines of her conversation with the Almighty passed through her mind. She breathed an inward sigh of relief at the thought of being spared giving up her iPod for a year and using her time to volunteer all the time . . . not that she was selfish it just seemed a shame to be without it as Linkin Park readied to release a new album. She shook herself and realized that time seemed to have stopped once more as his hand closed painfully around roots and yanked back against the rest of the hair on her head, drawing her up and out of the seat. _Stay calm_, she repeated to herself as he pulled her up to face him, _someone knows where your body is. Jane knows_.


	9. The Mark of the Trickster

**Chapter 9: The Mark of the Trickster**

Darcy made a soft grunt and stifled the urge to scream as the trickster looked into her eyes with an unyielding desire to set everything about her ablaze in an instant. She finally centered herself enough to stare back. "You treacherous little guttersnipe!" he growled. She stared back at him in shock. "Did you not expect my wrath?!"

"I-I didn't do that!" Darcy protested. She shifted and He growled and began dragging her back towards the shelter he had previously used for imprisonment. "Ow! You heard the recording! Ow, OW! Urgh! He had a system up that I didn't expect!"

"Didn't expect? Didn't _**expect**_?! You work for them and you didn't expect their contingencies?!" he shouted furiously and shook her for good measure.

"Ow! Stop that!" she protested. She noticed the frozen figures of each person as they passed and part of her ached as her stomach sank. She saw each individual and wondered about their life, but her captor saw nothing. She felt a primal human need to live beginning to burn in the back of her mind giving way to full on panic as they neared the Tesseract itself. "You, urgh, don't know anything about what really goes on in our world! Ow, ow, OW! You're, urgh, incapable of surviving a world flooded with technology eons ahead of the world you came from without help from people like me!"

"You arrogant little whelp! I never needed you!" he snarled. "And the world will be less one more pathetic weakling!" He summoned the scepter to the other hand and it began to glow brightly. Darcy let out a small cry and folded forward at those words, beginning to plead. "Do you really think I am inclined to spare you after you showed the enemy our position?!"

"They don't know where you are! They have no idea, they were lying!" she shouted through the torrent of default tears forming as he held the scepter over her head. "Please, please don't do this!"

"Others have begged for mercy," he hissed, pulling her back to him for a moment. "And I was more inclined to them!"

A flash of brilliant white went through her mind for a moment and Darcy could've sworn her entire body had filled with fire. Her vision was clear and it felt easier to breathe than ever before as she looked back at the trickster. He stared at her in awe, noticing that the pupils in her eyes had widened tremendously. She glared at him and, without warning, lunged a fist forward into his midsection. It felt like very little to the trickster by comparison to a blow from his brother or one of the others he was used to brawling with, but for a human it was tremendous strength and he crumpled a little at the sheer shock of the force. He momentarily released her and she darted hurriedly back towards the monitors, remembering where she had left the taser. Loki watched her in awe as she raced back, following her a little more slowly than she had been able to move. She felt a great swelling of relief wash over her as her fingers grazed the edge of the plastic and she withdrew the taser itself. She held it aloft as he neared her, electricity surging through the two prongs of the close range feature. He froze at the sight of the hand-held electricity and stared at her angrily.

"Don't come any closer," she warned.

He looked her over and found himself absolutely stunned at how close she had come to surviving his wrath as a very simplistic mortal. No, he couldn't give this up that easily; he had to mark her and make sure he discovered what kept her so inclined to strength. He breathed deeply and stepped back, turning his wrist as he moved and willing the small hold he had over time to fade away. Darcy watched the rest of the men snap back to life and soon found herself held on either side by foreign soldiers. She felt a foreboding and familiar presence behind her as a large hand reached over her and snatched the taser away. Agent Barton looked over it with ennui and handed it firmly to the trickster who accepted it carefully, looking at the end with caution. He suddenly smirked at realizing what this meant about his brother's visit. He had seen through his brief visit to inform his brother of the state of Asgard, what the humans whom he had first met had looked like. Jane, that was her name, the one his brother fancied; she was small and weak, perhaps more intimidating in presence than Darcy and yet Jane showed no strength whatsoever in front of Thor. Darcy had shown strength, she had wounded him, or so he had ascertained from his brother's troubled and weakened mind. Why had he chosen a mortal so frail when he had this one at his fingertips.

Darcy stared back at him with a measure of terror, but also with a measure of defiance that had yet to fade from her and would probably, he wagered, remain on her features long after she had grown pale with death. He smirked and stood closer to her. "You would've done it, wouldn't you?" he mused, glancing back at the end of the taser. "Wounded me like you did my brother, left me to fend for myself as you escaped, perhaps even found a way to coax your precious doctor with you."

"I didn't bring up that video," she asserted again.

He laughed. "And still so determined to save what little a reputation you have. Pride, dignity, and strength," he said looking her over. He knelt and grabbed her chin in his hand, gazing with satisfaction in her eyes. "Well . . . pride and strength, anyway."

"You're losing time," Darcy warned. Part of her shouted inwardly for that defiance to shut up and allow her a few more moments on earth, but it didn't matter in the end. He was going to kill her and now he simply wanted to enjoy it. He sighed and stood back up as the tip of the scepter began to glow yet again. She swallowed hard and looked back at him. "I forgive you, if anyone ever asks."

"Do you, now?" he said grinning all the more. He lowered the scepter over her forehead and chuckled. "A rare thing, forgiveness is. It separates and, uh, weakens those that share it."

"It empowers," Darcy corrected defiantly.

"How powerful do you feel right now?" he asked wickedly, discharging enough energy to accomplish the spell that it would take to change only the appearance of her eyes. To his astonishment she remained staring at the scepter as it went to work. Clearly her defiance was not merely towards him, but to all supramortal powers including death. He withdrew the scepter. "My brother didn't choose you, and the human he favors is quite demure by comparison. What does that say for his character, or perhaps his choice in women?"

"That he's not a borderline pervert with a god-complex," she shot back.

"Release her," Loki said waving a hand to the others around her. They dropped either arm immediately and went back to their posts around the complex. She slowly stood, not moving any further, and staring at him in confusion and anger. "You are too diverting to kill. I appreciate the rarity, the differentness of your candor, Darcy." He moved slowly forward as he spoke holding what must've been the taser out towards her. She reached out and carefully swiped it from his hand looking down at it. She sighed realizing it was the cell phone instead. "Not what I asked for the first time."

"You demanded my dignity, you didn't get _**anything**_ you asked for from me," she said lifting one brow for emphasis. She looked down, "I'm sorry; I tried, I really did to get through that. I couldn't know they had a secondary coding layer, it was ghost."

"That means nothing to me," he replied casually. "But you did make a feeble human effort to appease me. That should not go unrecognized." He held a hand out towards her and she stepped back. He sighed and looked at her more firmly. "You will not die at my hand, not now."

"What about Dr. Selvig?" she demanded.

He smirked. "You didn't do as you promised, entirely," he observed. Darcy frowned. He chuckled and moved even closer. "But he is not finished, either."

"Great, so I lose and you lose," she muttered, flopping both hands to her sides in exasperation.

"No, Darcy, you lose and I, well, I do not get all of my winnings," he corrected. He reached out and quickly snatched her by the forearm and began walking back towards the shelter with odd intent in his eyes. He stared down at the green still flashing behind her glasses that no other mortal would see. This was perfect. "It is time your differences were recognized more readily among your own kind. I have made sure of that."

She scoffed at this as they stood over the shelter. Darcy suddenly realized what he intended and looked back at him in renewed terror. He laughed more loudly at her obvious fright and pulled her more closely. "What, after the threat of death and torture, you're still going to let yourself be burdened with fear of the dark?"

"This coming from the seven-year-old pansy that hid under my boobs in brainstorm?" Darcy shot back angrily. He knelt with her and lifted the door to the shelter, gazing back down at her with curiosity laced satisfaction. "You're going to lose."

"And why is that?" he said smiling all the more and taking in the full sight of her in what she imagined would be one of her final shows of defiance.

"You lack conviction," she said flatly.

"Conviction is a tether to old notions and faded dreams usually of another's source," he said with contempt. "An overrated lie."

"And none of your lies are overrated?" she countered.

"Until we meet again, Darcy," he offered before grasping her arm more tightly and tossing her into the shelter. She screamed loudly, verbalizing fully what had been hidden by the muzzle before. He slammed the door over her as she turned and stared back in horror. Darcy remained frozen for a beat as she heard him move away. "Kroening Straza, isn't it? We should depart once all the preparations are final," he said, clearly intending for her to hear it as well. Darcy sat down and sighed, rubbing her head and keeping her eyes shut. As long as she didn't look, the darkness didn't exist. She repeated this over and over to herself finally doing so aloud, over and over again. She suddenly felt a hand clamp down over her shoulder. She gasped and stood, reaching for the taser. She halted and stared in disbelief at a Polizei officer and his partner as they looked down at her. Somehow she had ended up outside and the last remnants of daylight were streaming down onto the brick road she now stood on.

"Wie heisst du?" he asked.

"Darcy, Darcy Lewis," she replied. The man looked at her with some type of disgust that she couldn't place. It couldn't have been her American accent. Of all the countries of the world, Germany continued to seem very much in love with Americans in their borders provided they minded their manners. She heard him mutter something about drugs and turn away quickly. She followed after him and touched his shoulder stating his title repeatedly. The man turned and stared at her, almost wrinkling his nose at her. Darcy felt her heart sink at his reaction. This was Loki's doing, he had done something to her that accentuated her 'differences' she thought. She sighed heavily and frowned. "Wo ist Kroening Straza?" The man sighed and pointed, nodding to her. She smiled and nodded back. "Danke."

Again, the man left with his partner muttering about the youth, drugs, and American free-stylists in his country. She shook her head and approached another woman for better directions. To her surprise, the reaction was more blatant than the officer's and the woman refused outright. This happened over and over again until a jolly old shop-keep told her in three steps how to reach the street she wanted and asked if she was there to protest the relics on display at the museum. She stared at him in confusion before leaving hurriedly. Whatever the trickster had done, it wasn't going away without his powers removing it and it wasn't about to get better talking to ordinary people. She followed the directions meticulously, occasionally trying to stop and speak to someone casually with a quick question of what time it was, each time met with the same horror and disgust. She had looked through several windows at her reflection and couldn't see any difference between her previous appearance and what met her gaze at the moment. She looked a little more weathered, yes, but not strange. She groaned and finally reached the street with its magnificent fountains outside the museum itself.

She walked around quietly as the sun set, still trying to inwardly discern what he possibly could've done to set her more apart in such a negative way. She huffed as she walked, occasionally asking a question to herself aloud, but then reminding herself how it must've seemed to others. After the sun was well set, she continued to wander around calmly being approached by numerous officers as she explained she was waiting for a gentleman. The officers were hesitant, but left her alone after a few moments. Finally, Darcy saw the face of her captor at the edge of a small crowd in front of one of the fountains. She growled and followed, noting that he had changed his attire to fit in with the crowd. _You hope_, she told herself. _Let's hope he's not an innocent stranger because if you start demanding to know what he did and he's not who you think he is, the officers will be back in a heartbeat and there won't be anyone to call on for help_. After he had sauntered forward with a cane a few steps she saw the familiar glowing blue gem in it and smiled a little, triumphantly. No, this was him. Darcy watched as he rounded the corner of the fountain and let out a furious growl. He stood, admiring the night and the pleasant music drifting through the crowd as permeating as his very presence with them. She stormed up to him and glared hatefully.

"What did you do to me?! Everyone's treating me like a crazy homeless person!" she shouted furiously.

"Well, perhaps that is because of your habit of randomly raising your voice to passing strangers," he offered sarcastically as he appraised her with a measure of disdain and stepped backwards, feigning being as disgusted by the blankness in her eyes as any others that passed by. "Besides, what I did is irrelevant, remember? I know nothing of what really goes on in your world and am incapable of surviving a world inundated in technology eons ahead of the world I came from, is that what you said verbatim?"

"Not verbatim," she snarled, lifting one brow with the last word. "You know, I was willing to overlook the harsh exterior because of all the messed up nonsense that goes along with being royalty in any era, but you, you go beyond messed up. I don't know why you're striving so hard to be the king of the earth because you have the sole right to be called the king of crazy without any opposition right now."

"Oooh," he said with a devious look. "I detect hostility. Would no one show you compassion?"

"It's Germany; compassion's not their thing," Darcy said loudly. A man passing by muttered the words for a filthy name which Darcy addressed loudly and his native tongue. "Undo this, whatever it is, or tell me what you did!"

"I think, you're upset because something about you has changed without your knowledge and as malleable as you claim to be and as adaptable as you claim to remain with all this advancement in your world, you are still helpless when on foreign soil, still a vulnerable mortal in need of essential care, and still a scorned woman with no hope of remedying the oddities that turn others away from you," he said with a wicked grin. "I do believe you're so angry you've finally been rendered silent."

"You don't know what angry is," she hissed. "I'm not going to be asked to 'move along' or be approached by another Polizei officer about 'where I'm going', 'where I'm from', or 'what's my business here' because of you, you cretin. Undo this, this, this, whatever this is!"

"I don't think I should," he observed with a cool smile and reached into the long, black coat withdrawing a false wallet. "And I don't think this gesture will help your cause, but it might help someone listen to you. I don't see any of these people turning away even you if you have currency." He withdrew a monetary note, clearly a large sum of Euro, and handed it to her, holding it out in front of him. Darcy glared at him hatefully and looked to either side noticing at least three officers watching the scene unfold with great interest. "Go on, take it."

"No," she retorted stepping backwards.

He sighed, still holding it out. "I already have your dignity, all of it, and I am running low on time," he said, nodding at his hand. "Take this and go find help to get you home. When I am king I will make sure you are still as living and as useful."

"You think you _**took**_ my dignity?" she asked angrily, stepping closer past his wrist. He stared down into her eyes seeing the true jade glow past the milky film that covered the truth. He smirked as she glanced over at the officers and then suddenly grabbed either side of his head, pulling his face down to hers and catching his mouth against her own. Loki felt startled at first and considered fighting it, but then realized how desperate this made her, how claimed. She parted their lips and escorted him into a new form of sensuality, the German kiss; more aggressive than the other signs of affection in Europe. The officers moved a little closer, clearly unsettled by the display and muttering to each other. The trickster didn't notice this and placed one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head. She pulled away furiously and slapped him harshly with her left hand. He rubbed the side of his face and stared back at her in disbelief as she spoke in almost flawless German. "_Hands off, to touch is extra_," she said firmly. The officers nodded to one another and turned to leave. Another aristocrat feeding the starving public with shame. He looked down at her in confusion. "You can't take what isn't give to you, Loki. That isn't taking any more, it's stealing."

"You do taste as bold as you behave," he mused, touching his own lips gingerly as he grinned at her.

"Focus, you creep. I never gave you my dignity," Darcy snapped.

"Then you call me a thief instead," he rationalized.

She frowned. "I've got worse things running through my head to call you," she replied hotly. "In a number of languages."

"Yes, you did seem to have quite a gifted tongue," he replied with a suggestive grin. She folded her arms and glared at him. "Wait for me, here, and I will see what I can do to get you to someplace where the mark you bear will be fully understood."

"What mark?" she said slowly, deliberately, and with an unyielding rage.

He smirked. "Mine," he said simply turning to walk into the museum. "Wait here, I won't be long."


	10. Calling

_(((Sorry this took so long to upload. I truly appreciate the prayers and comforting words during the loss of two family friends within hours of each other and my continued leukemia scare. Thank you. Keep reading . . . a fellow artist online gave me the perfect symbolism to use as the dark part of Darcy's mind that Loki will explore, the place where she keeps all her horrors, nightmares, and memories of bad things. Where else, but Silent Hill?)))_

**Chapter 10: Calling**

As the trickster disappeared into the museum, Darcy sighed heavily and slunk down to sit beside the fountain. Something pressed uncomfortably against her bottom and she shifted, reaching into her pocket. She rolled her eyes and slapped her own forehead at realizing that he had returned her phone to her. Why hadn't she thought to use it? She could've called the embassy, she could've called Jane, best yet she could've called Agent Coulson. The mild crush that Darcy had on the wizened agent had faded only a little and the kindness in his smile was still captivating. She shook her head and opened the phone looking at the battery power and range. To her pleasant surprise the battery seemed entirely full as did the reach of the phone itself. She scrolled through her contacts and noted Dr. Selvig's number. A lump formed in her throat as a few tears formed in her eyes and she wiped them away furiously. He was going to survive; she would make sure of it. She swiped the number aside and looked at the number next to it; Jane's number. She sighed heavily and pressed 'send', holding the device up and waiting for the ringing to begin on the other end.

(*)

Jane Foster had been awake for three days since she had found out about the explosion in New Mexico. She had wailed and wept inconsolably when she had found out that Dr. Selvig had been taken captive, but she had cried all the harder when she received news from Nick Fury that Darcy was dead. Of course the director didn't know that for sure, but he had seen her receive a blast from Loki's scepter in the desert when both of them had flown in opposite directions. She hadn't moved and her body had been gone by the time he had made it to where she had fallen. Loki wouldn't have taken a useless gopher captive, but he could see the trickster having Barton toss her remains somewhere inconspicuous. Jane had simply been told that Darcy had been killed trying to save the Tesseract and Selvig as well. It wounded the young scientist that her assistant had died so violently trying to save an object she had promised to keep an eye on because it was directly tied to Thor's return.

"I'll make sure we find out how to get him back, Jane," Darcy had reassured when she had packed to leave. She had never let on like she knew about the cruel coin toss and she had ignored the aggravated mumblings from Jane about how much she wanted the lab to herself once again. Jane remembered Darcy throwing her warm arms around her, hugging her tightly, and promising to take good care of Dr. Selvig as well. "You'll be famous by this time next year . . . on the cover of all sorts of magazines and on Ellen!"

"Darcy, not everyone wants the same ridiculous recognition that people like you who get all excited when a celebrity sends them a fake letter want. Some of us want to contribute to the world, to knowledge, to do something meaningful and S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to ruin that if they keep this up," Jane had whined. Darcy had shaken her head and gripped her pseudo-friend's shoulder. "And he's not coming back."

"Jane, he fell out of the stars for you, how much more does destiny have to do to convince you anything's possible when it comes to true love?" Darcy countered with a sparkling gleam in her green eyes. Jane had huffed and shoved Darcy's hand away angrily. Darcy turned and folded her arms, watching sadly. "Fine, have it your way. He's up there with tons of beautiful alien women with big boobs and no brains."

"Are you finished packing?" Jane snapped. Darcy frowned and nodded while verbalizing that she had. Jane growled and stared hatefully at the girl. "Then get your bags and get going to your new job. Erik's already unhappy enough about having to cart you off with him and I'd like to start enjoying the peace and quiet as soon as possible."

Darcy had sighed and shook her head, putting her last satchel over her shoulder and approaching Jane once more, patting her shoulder affectionately. Jane once more rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation. "See you when we've figured this thing out."

"Not if your next semester blissfully begins and takes you back as far west as possible," Jane had muttered. Jane looked down now at a picture of all three of them standing in front of the facility in Puente Antigua. She sobbed heavily and gingerly stroked the faces of Erik and Darcy in turn. "I'm so sorry," she whispered remorsefully. "I'm so sorry, Darcy."

Her phone suddenly began to ring loudly and her heart leapt. Her mind must've been playing tricks on her; terrible tricks. That was Darcy's ringtone. She grabbed her phone and stared at the number. Her eyes widened in amazement at the number listed and the picture accompanying the individual ringtone. It was Darcy's number, her image, and her tune. Jane swallowed hard and pressed 'accept'.

"H-hello?" she said shakily.

"Jane?" Darcy's voice called from the other end. Jane froze and breathed sharply. "Jane, are you there?"

"Darcy!" she cried. "Where are you? Are you dead?"

"Sure, Jane, I'm dead. I'm calling to tell you Heaven is out of Chunky Monkey and I need you to send some up our way," Darcy said sarcastically. Jane gave no response, unused to this kind of sarcasm when Darcy should've been afraid of clearly having been taken captive or being dead. Could she be dreaming? Hallucinating? Was Darcy really able to call her from beyond the grave? She heard Darcy chuckle nervously, almost giddy that she was realizing that someone else knew she was alive. "You still don't check your instant message inbox do you?"

Jane gasped and accessed the older mail account section on her laptop and noticed a message from Darcy. It had been sent from somewhere in Germany and told her that Selvig was safe but being held captive by Thor's angry younger brother who was seeking to use the Tesseract to give him the power to take control of the earth. Jane fought away more tears as she read the last part of the message that gave four potential places to look for her body if she hadn't been heard from after several weeks and her final wishes in being cremated and laid out over a moon-flower garden that grew near a tea-room in Monterey.

(*)

Darcy frowned at the hesitation in her friend's voice. Darcy cleared her throat and spoke once more. "Listen, Dr. Selvig is still captive and I promise I'll stay with this nut-job until he gets freed," she said firmly.

"Darcy, no; get to the American Embassy. Call S.H.I.E.L.D. or something," Jane instructed. "Just get away from there. He wasn't supposed to, but Agent Coulson told me what happened there in New Mexico. You're lucky to be alive!"

"Don't worry about me, I've got his attention and it doesn't look like he's going to end me. He's too . . . um . . . intrigued. I'm telling you it's like I'm Jennifer Connolly and he's The Goblin King or something," Darcy said looking around the scenery carefully. "Tell the other agents that we're in Stuttgart, Germany and he has the Tesseract underground."

"Darcy . . .I-I-," Jane stammered as she jotted down the information and prepared to contact Coulson. She drew in a sharp breath and allowed a tear to fall bitterly yet again. "I'm sorry for everything. You wouldn't be there if I hadn't been such a . . ."

"Not now, Jane, get on the horn and get the word out!" Darcy protested. She began to hear shouting and screaming from within the museum. Her blood ran cold and she found it difficult to move or draw in breath. Loki was hard at work and it sounded like something terrible. She gasped and pulled the phone closer, now almost whispering as if her volume made all that great a difference to the trickster present or otherwise. "Listen, Jane, just stay where you can't be found, wherever S.H.I.E.L.D. tells you and don't try anything ridiculous or heroic."

"I wouldn't know where to begin with that. Wait! Is Thor there? Is he?!" Jane demanded excitedly. Darcy groaned and shook her head.

"No, or his brother would be a stain on the sidewalk," Darcy muttered. Her eyes widened as a screaming crowd of people suddenly came running out of the museum towards the fountain and the piazza where she sat waiting for the trickster. She slowly stood and frowned, blood draining from her features. "Uh oh."

"What? What is it?" Jane asked frantically.

"I have to go," Darcy said flatly, starting to lower the phone. Loki emerged from the building behind the crowd. His long, black cloak slowly shifted into brilliant golden armor, a grand green cape, and a helmet with a set of enormous gold horns formed atop his head with his dark tresses barely peeking out from the gilded edging. Darcy stared at the sight as his cane slowly grew back into the menacing scepter. A Polizei car came careening down the street towards him. Loki snarled and turned, firing one simple blast of energy and sending the car flipping past him in a crumpled heap as he continued to follow the crowd. Darcy's jaw dropped while Jane continued to try and get her attention. Several other copies of Loki, not unlike the one she had seen in the tunnels, had formed a barrier around the crowd itself, causing people to stumble and halt. He stared down at the terrified and screaming humans in formal and informal attire looking equally panicked despite any social differences.

"Kneel before me," he demanded harshly.

"Jane, I really have to go," Darcy whispered.

"No, Darcy, please! Don't hang up!" Jane pleaded. "What's going on? What are you going to do about that horrible monster . . . that guy you think is the new David Bowie with a penchant for world domination?!"

Darcy swallowed hard as she watched the rest of the crowd. The all stared at the various copies and the real Loki standing before them furious in confusion and terror. He grasped the scepter and held it aloft. "I said," he began and then shouted. "Kneeeeeeel!" The crowd instinctively, slowly, knelt and lowered their gazes. Darcy watched from her safe position behind the fountain, hidden by one of the statues at its base as she watched. She suddenly felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder harshly, familiarly. Her blood ran cold and a burning sensation moved through her mind as she could still hear Jane's voice shouting through the phone. Not wanting Loki to try and locate Jane for further amusement, she quickly closed the phone, and shoved it back into her pocket as she turned and stared up at Loki blankly. He frowned at her. This might have been a copy, but it was just as real and powerful enough to do her harm. He sneered at her. "Why do you not kneel, Darcy?"

Darcy cleared her throat. She was a diversion for him; he didn't want to kill her, he wouldn't kill her. She had something he wanted and neither of them were still sure what it was. Yes, very much in many ways like Sarah and her sweet abductor. Darcy finally grinned and looked sternly into his eyes, speaking the most potent and meaningful words she could've ever imagined being said by any woman to any man in any realm. "You have no power over me."


	11. Legends Arrive

_(((Well the Leukemia scare is over for now and I'm being treated for the real cause of the unpleasantness I've been suffering. Thanks for the support guys, it meant the world to me and this fiction means a lot to get to escape from all the madness and weakness. What bothers me more than anything is the one illness that can't be addressed by my doctors or myself . . . a relative that was once a friend who has chosen hatred and ill-will simply because we have different abilities and lives. Love your families, talk to them, be they related to you or otherwise, but especially those that share your blood. You will always need each other and sadly, in this case, Karma will be just as unkind. We're about to finish with 'The Avengers' events in a few chapters and move on to what happens next and who is really holding Loki captive and why Darcy still carries that taser . . .)))_

**Chapter 11: Legends Arrive**

Loki snarled and grasped Darcy by the shoulder. She hadn't noticed it until now, too distracted by the sundry tasks and terrors, but it was quite swollen where Dr. Selvig had given her the injection and had been growing warm, red, and tender for hours now. She had been unable to have been given completely sanitary treatment for anything in the tunnels beneath the city and the filth that filtered through the only sources of air and water had managed to find Darcy without difficulty much as the trickster himself had no difficulty singling her out in the crowd like this. The version of him that was now so infuriated dragged her out from behind the statue. She cried out in pain as she realized that she was now very probably suffering from a minor infection. He ignored her cries and situated them to where they could clearly see his real figure, or what she assumed was his real form, addressing another man that had defied him. This man was much older and had a thick German accent.

"You are too easily deceived, Darcy," the illusion hissed, shaking her once for emphasis. She bit back another cry, sure that her displays of pain and emotion were satisfying to him. "Freedom is life's great lie and empowerment of human kind an even greater and far more cruel lie than lure of liberty."

"You're going to lose this," Darcy repeated. The image glared down at her as she stared back up at him. The man in the crowd that had stood and declared that he would not bow to a man like Loki had now been met with the reply from the trickster that there were no 'men' like him. To which the old man replied that there would always be men like him. A tear rolled down Darcy's cheek and her heart twisted in a terrible ache at the realization that this man had probably not only known from reading and hearing about instances of oppression in his tumultuous nation, he had seen such men rise and commit greater atrocities than Loki had done thus far. He had seen holocaust and humans turned into demons. Loki sneered at her tear and sensed the reason behind it, scoffing. "Men like you always lose."

"There are no 'men' like me, you fool," he growled. He grasped her by the chin with the other hand, the scepter disappearing from this image, forcing her to fix her gaze on the old man as the real Loki raised his scepter towards the old man. Another tear rolled down Darcy's cheek and something shifted in Loki as he felt the warmth touch his hand. She suddenly noticed that the odd superficial bluish glow to his eyes seemed to fade for a moment and his eyes became a deeper green. The moment faded and the bluish haze returned with ferocity as a malicious grin crossed the trickster's features and he lifted the staff, aiming the gem at the old man. "Look to your elder, people," he announced. He lowered his gaze, meeting the old man's directly with an unspoken sentence for his disobedience. The man's eyes widened in horror. "Let him be an example."

Darcy let out a scream as a blast of energy fired from the end of the spear and hurtled towards the old man, ready to obliterate him into nothing more than the memory of his attempted defiance. Darcy suddenly saw a flash of blue and white, the burst of energy catching against something with red, and then the blast returning on its path and hitting Loki harshly in the chest. The girl's eyes grew wide in complete amazement at the sight that met her. The flash of colours that had landed in front of the old man stood and her vision made out the clear form of a stalwart soldier, a defender of the world, but first a servant of the United States Armed Forces. "Wow," Darcy whispered in amazement. The soldier, broad-shouldered and proud in his red, white, and blue uniform with trademark star-bearing shield, stood sternly and advanced towards Loki as the trickster centered himself and stood up angrily. "Captain America!"

"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and I saw a man standing above others," Captain Steven Rogers announced firmly, stopping a few feet away from this strange new enemy. He remembered the Red Skull and Hydra and how hard the deranged doctor and soldier had worked to create an empire of elite evil. The crowd's minds went back to Hitler and his soldiers, but Rogers had known a greater evil, a more despicable creature that had stood above others and seen himself above them as well. "We ended up disagreeing."

"The soldier," Loki mused with disdain. "From the great war."

"Trust me, it wasn't that great," Rogers replied, gripping his shield tightly.

"Mine will be," Loki replied with a snarl and took a step forward. Rogers lifted the shield and the two continued to silently appraise one another.

Darcy glanced to the side, realizing that no one was holding onto her shoulder any longer. To her relief, her image of Loki had seemed to disappear along with all the others. She could make out a crazed smile on Loki's face even from this distance as she tried to quietly point the way to a safe road away from the scene to several people. The people followed instantly and by the time the trickster had realized he had lost track of Darcy, half the crowd was headed down the other side of Kroening Straza and nearer to safety than the rest. Loki growled and created another image, catching Darcy once more by the shoulder as his true form turned back to Rogers.

"I have nothing to fear from a man out of his own time," he said.

Rogers stared back, unyielding. "I'm not the one who's out of time," he retorted.

Darcy heard a loud whirring overhead, reminiscent of the jets from S.H.I.E.L.D. Her heart leapt a little. Thank goodness, help was well on its way more than just one superhero. The jet came down into the lower part of the sky a little behind the captain and aimed a large cannon-like weapon at the trickster. Loki frowned and gripped Darcy more tightly. Darcy furrowed her brow and straightened her glasses a little, ignoring another shot of pain. How was this image, this false version, doing anything tactile? How could he truly grasp her if he was a fake? Perhaps he could make many physical copies of himself, but that would make each one a percentage of the original only and therefore weaker, she rationalized. There was only one way to tell if her theory was true and this was just as vulnerable a figure as the real Loki with only a percentage of his senses.

She turned and quickly slammed her fist into his abdomen in the one most vulnerable area. She had to be careful to not aim too low and rupture a kidney, but there was no armor, and no leather-mail to protect him in this one place on his side. His eyes flashed with pain and he let out a cry as he instinctively dropped the scepter and bent forward. Despite better judgment, Darcy stayed put and watched the other version, noting that he did the very same thing. She smiled and put a hand on either of his shoulders before bringing her patella as harshly as she could beneath his inguinal region . . . the one place where every soldier desired armor but rarely had the forethought to protect. Loki's breath left him and he gagged a little at the pain radiating from his groin right into his brain as he fell forward onto his knees, gasping and clutching himself tightly. The other version was distracted fighting Captain America and dodging the jet's weaponry, but that made the one in front of Darcy all the more weakened. She bent forward a little and grinned triumphantly.

"See? There are more effective ways of communication," she chided. He glanced up at her, still panting heavily with tears of agony streaming from his green eyes. She took a step backwards, ready to escape after a few more moments of gloating. "I didn't even have to tell you to kneel and here you are all submissive and everything."

"You will know pain thrice this terrible by the time I finish teaching you manners," Loki threatened as he began to stand. Darcy frowned and darted in the other direction. She halted as she noted that he had appeared behind her and was now standing directly in front of her as well. He grasped her by the throat and leaned closer to her face. "This mark is not nearly enough for your heroes, for your friends in higher places," he observed. He took her head in both hands and squeezed painfully at either side of her head at the temples. She grunted as he released her, unaware that now her eyes bore a soft blue glow just like Barton and Selvig's. He smiled and chuckled. "Oh the things they'll do to you."

"Will they be any worse than when I . . ." Darcy began. Suddenly, the version of Loki that had been facing her disappeared and the loud, pulsing sound of AC/DC began to blare over every available loudspeaker. Darcy looked around in confusion as 'Shoot To Thrill' filled the atmosphere. She heard another strange sound and then heard a hard object collide with the ground. She turned back to where the real Loki had been battling with the captain and gasped at seeing the red and yellow armor of Tony Stark's Iron Man. She grinned brightly and clasped her hands together. She had held Stark in high regard after he had gone from creating weapons en masse to producing clean energy and other humanitarian efforts, the epitome of human change and real enlightenment. She watched as he raised both arms towards Loki who sat holding his side from the injuries inflicted by both the captain and the girl.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games," the armored hero challenged. Loki sighed and raised both hands as his helmet and armor suddenly faded in a golden glow. Darcy frowned and watched as the captain and the armored hero joined one another, standing in front of him with strained victory. The armored hero lowered his own weapons and replied, "Good move."

Loki suddenly grinned and glanced over his shoulder. "Come along, Darcy," he said loudly from a distance. She froze as the eyes of both heroes suddenly fell on her and they looked as though they were appraising another enemy and not a civilian in danger. "We're not finished yet, you and I."

Darcy tried to speak, to say something to defend herself as the captain approached her looking stern and determined. She stepped backwards and raised both hands. Rogers quickly slipped his shield behind him and held out his hand. The two couldn't see the glare that Stark was giving them, clearly not feeling the same instinctive compassion or trust for the girl after having seen the photographic images of those that had been enslaved by the trickster. The Captain seemed to think that there was something different about her, something else. He suddenly stopped moving and continued to hold his hand out towards her, trying to remember from the dossier what the names of Loki's captives had been. He had remembered reading and being particularly disturbed by the captivity of a young girl who had been assumed dead after being terribly wounded, the one who had tried to flee with the Tesseract and get it to safety in the first place. Darcy stared back at him in similar confusion as a slight smile crossed his lips.

"Darcy Lewis?" he asked cautiously. Her heart skipped yet another beat. Her name sounded wonderful in his handsome voice, but it was more importantly being spoken by someone with the potential to undo whatever had been done to her, stop this crazed immortal from his determined chaos, and save Dr. Selvig as well. She breathed deeply and nodded. He stood more upright and nodded to her. "I'm Captain Steve Rogers of the United States Military," he added. "And I'm here to help."

She raced forward and threw her arms tightly around his enormous body as best she could and breathed shakily. Rogers put one arm around her, turning to Stark and nodding. Stark grabbed Loki by the shoulder, hoisting him to his feet as the jet landed and readied to take its passengers to the helicarrier. Darcy breathed deeply as an uncontrollable few tears streamed down her cheeks with a few appropriate sobs. "Thank you," she whispered as they began to walk. Rogers glanced down at her and frowned a little and then towards Loki who smirked proudly and winked at him. Rogers narrowed his eyes as he helped Darcy onto the jet and helped her to sit. She seemed to be shaking terribly and she was extremely warm for someone in shock. As the two finished placing the safety belts around the two new passengers, Darcy clutched Roger's hand and looked deeply into his eyes. He shuddered a little at the sight of her strange blue-white eyes, but ignored the disgust in the name of manners; she was still just a kid and a young girl at that. "Where are we going?"

Rogers looked over at Loki and frowned. "Somewhere safe, ma'am," he replied flatly, not wanting to give anything further to the real enemy and his obvious captive. He gently squeezed the girl's hand before he hurried over to where Stark stood, contemplating the situation. Darcy frowned and sighed, clutching her hands together as she sat across from the trickster. Loki smiled at her, his eyes flashing with a terrifying calm for someone being held prisoner. He chuckled and shook his head as he stared at her.

"What's so funny?" she said angrily.

He leaned forward, replying in a tone so smooth and casual that it seeped into her skin and seemed to freeze even the inflamed flesh around what she assumed was a swollen wound. "There is nowhere safe, Darcy," he replied softly. Her heart sank as she realized that he had some sort of plan for being taken captive, this had not been a victory on their part at all. "Not from me."


	12. Thunder Follows

**Chapter 12: Thunder Follows**

Darcy's nostrils flared at the grinning trickster. His smile, the brilliant white rows of teeth painted against a dark mind, reminded her of the Cheshire Cat . . . an evil Cheshire Cat; content to be full of riddles and mystery, to lead someone right into madness. She silently removed the buckles holding the safety harness over her as the Captain and Mr. Stark were preoccupied in conversation. The Captain was sure that this set up was wrong somehow, noting that Loki gave up far too easily. Stark seemed content with the situation and began making small talk about his new companion's age versus his abilities. Darcy noticed something like tension between them as the Captain mentioned that Director Fury hadn't told him that Stark was being called in, to which Stark replied with a shrug that there were a lot of things that Fury didn't tell his own people. Darcy wasn't sure why she was so angry all of a sudden, but she did know that Loki still had her taser and she wanted it back desperately. In fact, she had begun to sweat a little under what she assumed was heated anger and felt as though she would burst if she didn't get her property back from him. Something was wrong with her, she realized, something more than just a mere mark left by the trickster, something doing her harm right this very minute. She needed the taser, now.

She suddenly lunged for the trickster, buckled in at the back of the jet, who jumped back in surprise and tried to take hold of both her hands as she both belted him with fists and tried to search him for the weapon. He cried out in surprise just as both men conversing suddenly noticed their captive was under attack. "Where is it? Give it to me! Give it to me, now!" Darcy shouted furiously. Loki moved hurriedly away from her blows as she continued to lunge for him repeatedly. She couldn't do him any real harm, but he was in no mood to deal with even a modicum of pain, particularly any pain caused by a female in front of two other men. Stark and the Captain hurried to both of them as Darcy finished searching one half of his leather vest. "Give me my taser! Give it to me, now, you worm!"

"She's . . . gone . . . mad!" Loki said through grunting, trying to push the girl away. He stopped as the two men approached and he noticed something disturbing about her. Her eyes, the true form of them, were somewhat reddened beneath his spell and heat radiated from her. His mouth went a little dry. This was not like her; either a madness caused by some illness had taken her or she was under a spell of another sort. His wager weighed more toward the first notion than the second. Rogers quickly took hold of Darcy around the waist and managed to pull her away as Stark shoved Loki harshly back into the seat. Loki looked past him at Darcy as Rogers tried to guide her as gently as possible back towards the front where she had been seated before. "I don't have your precious whatzit."

"Yeah, but she does have a point," Stark muttered. Loki stared at him in confusion and froze as the man searched him more thoroughly for any other weapons. They had the scepter safely put to the side, but Darcy had seen more of him than they had and, under his powers or not, she seemed to think he had other means of destruction at his disposal. She seemed to be reacting poorly to the spell in the first place. Stark attributed this directly to her not having been a federal agent or someone in their loyal employ . . . she was too free-minded. It took only a few awkward moments for Stark to realize that even the small daggers Loki had arrived with on Midgard were gone. He stood and sighed heavily, walking back towards Rogers as he and Darcy simply stood. She was trembling and Rogers was unsure of what to say or do at the moment. "He's clean. Again, good move, just not very smart."

Loki breathed a sigh of relief and congratulated himself on having perfected the ability to transport objects to hide them as well as the perfect ability to summon them. He sighed and watched the soldier and his somewhat liberated captive standing together. Darcy breathed heavily and grasped her head as the worst migraine she had ever experienced suddenly shot through her head and neck. She groaned and buckled at the knees, leaning forward. The Captain caught her immediately and knelt, holding onto her and frowning. Darcy felt the world lurch to one side and then the other uncontrollably. This wasn't turbulence, at least not from the jet. What was happening? She suddenly felt the pain in her shoulder growing as well as heat surrounding it. She gasped and a thousand terrors about infections and complications from needles went through her mind. What wasn't brilliant red on her skin, which was mostly covered at the moment, turned very pale. Loki's eyes widened as he sensed her fear. Sadly it was too loud for him to hear what she was frightened of and determine whether or not she knew what had happened to her. He cursed inwardly firstly for caring at all whether or not this mortal was in any sort of danger and secondly for not having a more clear line of thought to grasp hold of with her. He reminded himself that there were still things he needed to know, and exploit, from her. He leaned closer and frowned as Rogers touched her cheek and looked at Stark in concern. Even through the layers of cloth, he could feel the terrible fever as it began to grow all the more violent.

"She's hot," Rogers observed.

Stark smirked. "Well, she is cute and there's a balcony big enough for Romeo and Juliet, I'll give you that," Stark said with a suggestive grin that would've prompted an indignant and possibly physical defensive reply from Darcy. At the moment, however, she was too confused, too far taken by the fever to notice. "But she looks pretty young. They said she was a college kid, but if you ask me she's got child prodigy ergo 'jail bait' written all over her. And trust me, old man, that's jail bait and you don't need . . ." he began.

"No, I mean she's burning up, hot to the touch," Rogers interjected angrily, He smoothed some of Darcy's hair away, looking at her with concern. Darcy felt her head spinning out of control as the heat became more unbearable. Rogers' keen sight suddenly noticed that her shoulder, her right shoulder, seemed to have a protrusion, a risen area on it beneath her sleeve. She panted and leaned in to Rogers as he looked back at Stark. "She's got a fever, a bad one and I think she's been hurt."

"Well, I wonder who did that?" Stark said sarcastically, turning to Loki with a disapproving look. The trickster looked back at him defiantly and shook his head, too disimpassioned with these creatures to defend himself and state firmly that he had certainly not been the one to cause this wound, if it was indeed a wound. She was mortal, mortals were susceptible to a number of catching illnesses and it would fit such a frail child to acquire an illness in a foreign land.

Rogers lifted Darcy carefully and set her back into the seat, placing the safety belts around her and touching her head comfortingly. Darcy groaned and breathed sharply. "What's happening to me?" she asked groggily. "Everything hurts . . . it feels like fire."

A bright flash of lightning and a sudden burst of turbulence shook the mood and the very position of the jet itself. Stark and Rogers turned and looked towards Loki who suddenly cowered behind the safety belts. Loki glanced around him and began to shudder. The Bifrost was gone, surely there was no way his brother could have found magic-wise to come to claim him. His mind began to race as well and the jet suddenly shook with a crash of lightning. Darcy's eyes widened for a moment. Lightning, the trickster was still afraid of it. A smile crossed her lips momentarily, but then faded as her head slunk down. Rogers frowned and looked to Stark.

"We need to get her to a doctor right away," he said. He suddenly noticed the form of Loki cowering in the back of the jet. Rogers sneered at this, inwardly somewhat confused as to why such a powerful creature would now be showing fear. "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?"

Loki frowned and looked around as he replied. "I'm not overly fond of what follows," he said with a frightened yet bitter tone. He glanced over at Darcy yet again and frowned all the more. He hadn't remembered her ever being wounded; had one of the Germans attacked her without his noticing? No, surely it wouldn't be reacting so quickly this angrily. Another flash of lightning shook him back to the selfish fear for his own safety once again.

Darcy shifted. "Thunder follows lightning," she groaned. Rogers and Stark both turned back to her as Loki frowned and tried to think of what to do to escape should his brother appear. "Thunder . . . Thor . . ."

"Thor?" Rogers asked. "Thor, like Thursday? Why is that impor- . . ."

BOOM! A loud crash shook the sky as a massive object collided with the wing of the jet itself. Loki jumped in sheer horror as the rest of the occupants on the jet steadied themselves. Something had landed on the wing, something large. Heavy, thunderous footsteps suddenly moved from the wing towards the back of the jet. Clearly this was not a something, this was a someone and they were going to try and get in. Stark put on his face plate and moved towards the door as Rogers continued to kneel protectively over Darcy. The soldier frowned.

"Stark, what are you doing?" he demanded.

"Oh dear," Loki muttered so softly that no one could hear him.

At least, he thought no one could hear him. Darcy had heard him. She had become attuned enough to his voice and presence to sense even the slightest display from him at least for now. Stark pressed the button on the door despite another protest from Rogers and prepared to confront what had landed on their jet. The door opened to the rushing air of the sky and the cold, frightening storm. Stark, in the Iron Man suit entirely, stood to face the intruder. Only Loki recognized the form of the tall, muscular blonde that stood angrily at the entrance. Darcy was well-hidden by Rogers and still moaning as the fever grew worse and the wound on her should began to manifest its full pathological condition. Rogers watched in amazement and shock as the new figure hurled something at Stark, throwing him into the front of the jet. Loki fumbled with the buckles and was clearly trying to race for the front of the jet as well. Rogers narrowed his eyes wondering if the trickster was hoping for protection from this new figure from the two heroes. No such luck. The blonde took hold of Loki by the throat and lifted the object that he had hurled at Stark; it was a short-handled hammer. He twirled it furiously as he leapt from the jet carrying Loki with him.

Stark stood angrily and glared at the doorway, not even bothering to appraise the damage done to his armor no matter how minute. "And now there's that guy," Stark muttered angrily.

:"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked from the co-pilot's seat.

"You think he's friendly?" Rogers asked, practically having to shout above the roar of the sky as the jet raced through the air.

Stark moved to the open door despite the notion that the blonde might have been trying to help them. "It doesn't matter, if he frees Loki or kills him the Tesseract is lost," Stark replied flatly as he turned toward the exit.

The Captain frowned as he steadied Darcy against the seat, fastening the set of safety harnesses around her. "Stark, wait; we need a plan of attack!" Rogers called.

"I have a plan," Stark replied as he prepared to take flight. "Attack." With that, the armored hero leapt off the jet and hurled himself in the same path that Loki and the stranger had taken. He could see the pattern of disturbed clouds and air and was following it carefully along with Jarvis scanning the area for the two just as carefully.

Rogers sighed heavily and looked down at Darcy. He frowned and took her hand for a moment. "I need you to stay here, ma'am and stay awake," he said firmly. She nodded, a little confused as to why he would ask for both of those things together. She squeezed his hand weakly and he returned the gesture. "You're going to be just fine as soon as we get you to a doctor." Rogers stood and quickly took hold of a parachute, strapping it to his back. "The sooner we get them back, get him back, the sooner we can get you help," he remarked as he finished putting the parachute on himself, tightening the straps.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha called once more from the cockpit.

"I don't see how I can," he replied. "There's too much at stake, we don't have much time."

"These guys come from legend, they're basically gods," Natasha replied with a frown at him.

"There's only one God, ma'am," Rogers corrected firmly. Darcy smiled at this a little; Loki was no god, he simply thought he was. The Captain clutched his shield tightly and moved to the exit as well. "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." The soldier leapt just as calmly as Star had done, shield first, shooting in a straight line to the ground.

"Perfect, we lost all of them," Natasha muttered. "And we have an unidentified Asgardian interfering with handling Loki."

"It's Thor," Darcy muttered. Visions of the incident in Puente Antigua began to flash in front of her once more. Of finding Thor in the desert in the dead of night, of tasing him, of bringing him back with them to the small research facility. She then remembered the attack, the three strangers that had come to help Thor, saving a little dog, and watching Thor return to his full potential. She couldn't have been sure of how much time had passed and realized now that she was swooning, falling in and out of full consciousness as the fever raged on. _Huh_, she thought. _So this is what it was like before we had fever reducers. It's no wonder people were so miserable back then_. She suddenly began to hear voices again. She groaned as pain moved through her shoulder and she thought she felt a welt on it rise a little more. Her eyes widened as she felt movement in the rest of the jet and the door finally close. She tried to stir, having slunk uncomfortably into a position in the seat, but losing the ability to move much in getting out of it. Her weak efforts gave testimony to the fact she was still conscious and she felt Rogers beside her once again along with the raised voices of Stark and Thor still arguing about who was taking custody of the trickster fully. Darcy felt Rogers check her vital signs as best he could, then she heard loud, heavy footsteps moving towards her.

"Darcy?" she heard Thor ask in his unique, rich and loud voice. A small smile moved over her for a moment at realizing that she had been right. He had returned. She heard a soft grunt and a shuffling, not able to fully see the son of Odin shoving Rogers aside firmly and taking her head in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes. "Darcy, what's happened to you?!"

"Thor," she said gratefully. Another stab of agony ripped at her shoulder. Darcy vowed from that moment forward to never allow anyone without a whole box of alcohol swabs and a package of new syringes to ever come near her in a medical or non-medical setting again, even if it meant bludgeoning them within an inch of their life. She smiled a little and she managed to speak once more before darkness enveloped her entirely. "Jane will be so glad you're back."


	13. The End of All Hope?

_(((Dear Guest Reader: Thank you for your support especially in the observations and questions! If you recall, in the first dream sequence (oops, spoiler alert, there will be more) he came to the conclusion that if he couldn't make her a minion like Selvig and Barton, then he would make her simply look like one instead which meant changing her eyes. In the chapter following, he does this when she thinks he is going to kill her (with the scepter pressed against her forehead, actually right at her Ajna or super-duper-supernatural-third-eye) and this is why the German citizens were wary of her, as were Stark and the Captain, though they recognized her photo as being one of the casualties from the facility's collapse in the aftermath. The 'mark' has made her naturally green eyes appear blank and white with a bluish glow just like the eyes of the minions in the film, so most of the agents and heroes that see her from a distance will automatically assume that she is in league with the enemy even with her own mind. Little does Loki know, or rather he's choosing to ignore, that she's used to not being listened to or included and has found her own way of doing things! Usually I would answer this in a PM, but as a guest, you get your answer right here! I did expound upon it a little more in this chapter and I hope that helps! Again, thank you and keep reading independant works especially throughout October which celebrates banned and independant literature! Enjoy the next chapter after this one as it will be . . . dum, dum, dum: the second dream sequence! Namaste')))_

**Chapter 13: The End of All Hope?**

Thor found it futile to speak to Loki, demanding to know what had happened to Darcy for the rest of the journey. The trickster kept turned away from his brother, bitterly seething that the one mortal he hadn't intended to harm in the one instance in which he had meant no harm for her, was truly ill and he was being blamed. _It's childhood all over again_, he brooded. _Thor will find some way to spare her life, feckless brute. I should've kept her beneath the city; the city must've done it somehow_.

Darcy drifted in and out of consciousness and found it difficult if not impossible to determine when she had been awake and when she had been unconscious. She wondered how he had managed to make the taser disappear. He wouldn't have let it go, not that or the other blades he had kept on his person that she had seen back at the facility. Something had allowed him to hide them. It's magic, you idiot, she scolded herself. Loki's eyes widened at hearing her thoughts so suddenly and strongly. Her pulse was weakening and the fever burning like the fires of Muspellheim, but she was still well within her own mind and body. He smiled a little and looked to either side, thinking quickly. Darcy heard him listening to her, though she wasn't sure how and she wasn't quite sure she was awake, either. It didn't matter and it made her angry that even in this state he had no respect for her privacy. "Will you get out of my head for two seconds, you creep?" she shouted, inwardly she had thought, but quite aloud in her fuzzy state. The group froze and watched her shift sitting against the enormous form of Thor but addressing his brother. Loki turned and lifted his brow as she spoke, her eyes still closed. "First you try to get me to take my clothes off and now you won't leave me alone when I'm sick? You're just depraved, you know that? Depraved."

"Is this true?" Thor demanded, glaring at his brother furiously at this revelation. Had the trickster tried to force himself on a human? That was an abomination. Loki turned and thought about trying to defend himself, but then remembered her reaction outside the fountain and the fervent power in her lips and tongue, smirking to himself slightly. Thor stood, furiously, simultaneously placing Darcy carefully to the side for a moment, ready to deal a solid blow to his brother's jaw.

"Beginning initial descent, prepare for exiting the jet," the pilot announced loudly.

Thor growled and sat back down slowly, pulling Darcy back against his shoulder and feeling a sickening fear move through him at the heat she exuded. Stark and the Captain breathed a sigh of relief for two entirely different reasons. Rogers would've welcomed something proper to subdue the trickster who he had wanted to do some damage to himself, but was terribly afraid for Darcy's life. He felt relief move through him at the thought she would have medical attention in no time. Stark, on the other hand, understood that the Quinjet could only take so much damage and had seen more than Rogers had of what Thor was capable of when just a little peeved. Relief filled him that it would be extremely unlikely that the older would have a chance to thrash the younger, possibly crushing half the jet in the process. Thor was conflicted terribly about which should have his attention more, the wounded Darcy or his brother. As agents in more official and almost sinister looking uniforms approached and took hold of him, the choice was made. He tried to bring Darcy into his arms, but she too was taken by a team of medical officers leaving the namesake of thunder feeling powerless for the briefest of moments.

While Darcy was placed in a medical detainment area, Loki was led to a glass prison of his own. His gaze toward Darcy at the last had not gone unnoticed and he had recognized a look of confusion in his brother's eyes as he had seen the trickster turn back with a measure of concern for the girl as he was led away. His nostrils flared and his features softened in feigned serenity as he took in his surroundings. Director Fury approached the cell and glared hatefully at the trickster before stepping over to a control panel. "In case it's unclear to you: you try and escape, you so much as scratch that glass," he began. Loki watched carefully, very carefully at the series of buttons Fury pressed in opening a metal iris underneath the cage, wind and atmosphere rushing upward into the vessel. He stood at the edge and looked over it uneasily. This wouldn't do, not at all. Even he wasn't sure how best to escape from this contraption yet and his hold over time wouldn't work in a terrified state. "30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how this works?" Fury continued as Loki turned back to him. Fury closed the iris and then gestured from the trickster clearly towards the button that would release the cage while still locked. "Ant, boot."

Loki chuckled at the man's remark, remembering that he had countered the agent's plea for diplomacy with the phrase 'An ant has no quarrel with a boot' which had preceded the entire fiasco of the past few days by only moments. He smiled and gestured to either side. "It's an impressive cage," he said with amusement, sensing that he was being watched, and could at any moment be watched. Damn, he thought to himself. He hadn't planned on being put on display so openly. "Not built, I think, for me," he remarked, hoping the director would remember that Loki was a creature of magic, not brute force. The cage might've held the Hulk, it might've even held Thor for a few moments, but it could hardly hold the trickster, not for long if he remained uninterrupted in his senses.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you," Fury retorted.

Loki smirked once more, taking in where all of the cameras were placed, hearing the hum of the electricity moving through the cage and the vessel itself like a pulse in any other creature; where it's heart, where it's mind lay waiting for him to exploit. Ah, he thought to himself. That's better. Now try dropping it, you cynical Cyclops, it will do you no good. "Oh, I've heard," the trickster replied, still wanting the last intimidating word in this conversation. He grinned and turned towards the camera staring at him that displayed him to his brother and the others that had gathered to observe and deter him. "A mindless beast, makes play he's still a man," Loki added coolly before turning back to Fury with disdain. "How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I?" Fury asked angrily.

Loki suddenly heard from across the vessel, another voice, in the distance. "Where am I?' It was Darcy and her fevered confusion had practically turned to dementia. He remained calm, staring back at the director with equal anger, not wanting to back down from this display even while unsettled by the voice in the distance. "What's happening? Where am I?"

"You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun." Fury countered. Loki considered correcting the man. He had never found taking life amusing; toying with it, yes, but not taking it. Fury's one eye narrowed at Loki with more rage than his name implied. It was not unlike the moments of displeasure Loki remembered facing with his own father. "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Oooooh. It burns you," Loki observed with greater delight and amusement. With this much anger there were bound to be mistakes, errors; human errors. This would work like a well-oiled machine with such unsteady emotion. He lifted his chin proudly and took a step backwards, reveling in having this man's attention so entirely. "To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power . . . and for what?" he said, smirking once more and glancing back at the main camera with a scornful grin. "A warm light for all mankind to share?" he asked mockingly. Fury drew in a deep breath as Loki turned back to him again, green eyes flashing with defiance and a warning as to his full intention to have mankind beneath him. "And then to be reminded of what real power is."

Fury smirked and scoffed at this before turning to leave. "Well let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something," Fury replied casually as he disappeared. Loki sighed heavily and turned away from the monitor, sensing the moment they turned the cameras themselves off. Apparently they felt unthreatened by him at the moment, at least not threatened enough to watch him at all time. He breathed a deep sigh of relief and settled down, sitting on the bench built into the cage for a moment as he collected his thoughts. Just as he was silently going over the rest of this plan in it's entirety yet again, he heard the voice once more. This time it sounded more desperate, more terrified.

"What's happening to me?" Darcy called, though not aloud. Her thoughts were very loud and any supra-sentient creature would've heard them as if she had been next to them.

He paused and listened carefully. She was barely conscious anymore and he tried to assure himself that if he ignored the sound she would lose consciousness and he would have his peace and quiet returned to him. A shrill scream split the silence in his mind. Had the team been able to see him, they would've been abuzz with what must've been transpiring in his head as he grasped either side of it. He knelt on the floor of the cage as the scream resonated throughout his senses entirely. He groaned and shouted inwardly for her to be quiet. Then suddenly, silence came. He froze and hesitated, trying to extend his senses fully beyond the glass and see what really was happening to her. He had changed her, marked her, made her look like any of the other men that were under his power with their blue-tinted blank stares; were they executing her for it? His mind suddenly began to burn as fervently as Darcy's fever at the thought that panicked and ignorant humans had hold of her without any restraint. It was one thing for average citizens to see the mark and react, but here they would see it as a threat and overreact. He growled loudly as he felt the glass and distance itself a barrier to her presence. Then again, he reminded himself, she had been shielded from many of his powers before, perhaps this was just another example of it. He moved to the edge of the glass and placed a hand against it, furiously extending all of his senses, but not able to follow anything that wasn't linked to a live stream of electricity or circuit. He shouted in frustration and slammed his hand against the glass angrily.

"Where are you?!" he shouted, not worried about being heard. A measure of panic had filled his voice as he found himself disconnected from her for the first time since they had met. As dread began to overtake him, the soft sound of her heartbeat caught his attention. He perked up and followed it to the other side of the glass, where he placed the hand again. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, realizing that those thoughts had been her last few conscious moments, and she hadn't even been awake for them. She was well under, now, perhaps unnaturally so given the humans nearest her. He breathed deeply and heard the sound of footsteps moving closer to her and other voices. His features dropped at their revelation and he slowly knelt on the floor of the cage. "I've killed her," he muttered sadly; more saddened at first that he had lost a pawn, but then the realization of how pleasant her diversions had been came to him and a greater swell of sorrow met him. "She's dead."

(*)

"She's not dead, sir, not yet," Coulson corrected quietly as he relayed the information from the medical team to Fury himself. Fury had wanted to ask Darcy a barrage of questions, not the least of which was how she had survived a blast from the scepter and kept what seemed to be her senses when she had also appeared to have been under his control. At first Thor had reasoned that her defiance had caused the fever, but Coulson had brought news that it was a staphylococcus infection from an unsanitary injection of some kind. Fury sighed and looked back at his colleague emotionlessly. "They can do a couple of things to try and bring the temp down, but it's out of control and they're not equipped for this, not up here."

"Send her to hospital, ice therapy will work," Banner offered from a short distance away. The team hadn't parted ways yet to their separate tasks and the attention that Coulson's news brought to all of them was less than pleasant. "Get her back on a jet she should be stabilized within a few hours."

"I'm not sending a jet down to civilian territory for one person," Fury countered. "It's too much of a risk."

"You would forgo a means to spare her life?" Thor suddenly interjected angrily. He turned and glared at Coulson. "You are defenders of your realm; did you not swear an oath to protect the lives of the innocent?"

"Even if they get her on a jet right now and into a hospital within say five minutes, if the fever's that out of control encephalitis will set in and there won't be anything anyone anywhere can do," Stark added, standing beside Banner who shook his head.

"He's right, there's no guarantee we can get her somewhere in time," Banner added. "But it's better than keeping her somewhere unequipped to handle her condition."

"Her condition is complicated by alien magic, which hospital treats that?" Fury shot back. Banner frowned and looked away. "Miss Lewis was an asset to S.H.I.E.L.D., but if we compromise our position or resources, then what she did to try and save the cube and expose the enemy was useless."

"But you will allow a young woman to die for your secrecy?" Thor said angrily, standing and moving towards Fury. Coulson stood in front of him, catching the brunt of Thor's heated gaze. It was only right, Thor knew Coulson better than Fury and his anger could be better handled by the seasoned field agent than the director. "Loki has power that can heal her. I will oversee it."

"Not an option," Fury replied flatly.

Thor's expression twisted with anger and he clenched one hand into a fist. "You speak with disdain that my brother took life and you will not give him the chance to revive it?!" he shouted. The ship itself almost resounded with the Asgardian's voice. "I demand that you let me speak to my brother and he will heal her, then you can do what you will to find the Tesseract and return it to it's proper place!"

"Look, I know you're a big-shot where you come from and I know you're upset about this, everyone's gonna be, she was just a kid," Fury said trying to be as firm and yet practical as possible. "But we can't compromise the security of this vessel in the hopes that a murderer with a superiority complex is going to come to his senses and help someone he's been slowly killing for several days now."

Thor furiously gripped Mjolnir which Coulson noticed instantly. He quickly placed a hand on Thor's arm and spoke. "I'll handle this, sir," he offered. Fury nodded to him before giving Thor a sharp look. Fury ordered the team to disperse to their appropriate tasks and Coulson gestured for Thor to follow him quickly. "It won't be easy to get you up to the detention deck with Director Fury knowing that you want to go there, but nothing's impossible."

"Then you'll see my request done?" Thor asked hopefully as he followed him.

"I can't actually let you let your brother out even if he swears on a Bible to behave himself,"

"Then explain your intentions to me, Son of Coul," Thor said halting and glaring at the man.

Coulson sighed and turned to him, glancing to either side cautiously. "Everyone's a little distracted right now until they get their tasks well under way so we only have a very small window to work with," he said in a hushed tone. "You can talk to him, but you can't let him out."

"I cannot be assured that his power can reach her from within a prison," Thor argued with desperation reaching his voice.

"You fell to our planet from yours and didn't die while you were 'mortal'," Coulson replied. Thor froze and considered this for a moment. Coulson urged him forward as he led the way to the detention deck. "And between you and me I don't think your brother let himself get caught. He's just here to have a good look around and play along for our sake in the meantime."

(*)

Darcy wandered through a dark space after the last time she had regained consciousness enough to shout at Loki. There was nothing here and she was exhausted. It was unbearably warm and reminded her of the deserts she had seen in films, the harsh terrains bright and unyielding with sunlight. How could a place so dark be so hot? She groaned and found herself longing for something, anything, to alleviate the exhaustion or the heat. She remembered the pain in her head finally leaving, she remembered losing full touch with the world, but how could she be this tired so far from her own body? She drew in a deep breath as best she could in this form and looked around for something, anything, other than her own presence.

A small area suddenly grew bright in front of her as light began to filter in through a gap in the void. She raced towards it and noticed that the light itself fell upon a stone bench, cool and welcoming. She grinned brightly and hopped onto it like a child. She quickly laid back against it and curled up against the cool surface as the light enveloped her. Her thoughts returned for a moment and it suddenly occurred to her that she had done something wrong. The light was becoming overwhelming now. _Oh, no_, she thought. _I went towards the light! You never go towards the light_! She tried to leap back off the table but found that she was too tired to move. She screamed loudly as the light reached its peak and then suddenly vanished. Panting heavily, she lay lifeless on the bench and closed her eyes once more. Where am I, what's happening, she wondered again. Her mind suddenly returned to the last few moments of her conscious state. _Oh no_, she thought as her heart began to sink slowly. _Where is Loki_?

(*)

The trickster heard the two approach his cell and was blissfully turned away from them. He felt Thor's strong presence and shuddered inwardly. Had they come to begin recompense already, without even mourning her loss? He felt the presence of another as well, one he didn't recognize but that served Fury loyally. He stiffened and felt his heart begin to race at hearing the man's thoughts. Darcy wasn't dead, she was dying, but she wasn't dead. Thor had come to plead for her life, to have him heal her somehow from this distance. Loki sneered, the reflection in the glass opposite him meeting Thor's gaze uncomfortably without facing him. _You fool, I can do nothing from within this prison_, he thought to himself. _Go back to your precious humans and comfort them as she mercifully passes_.

"Brother, I know you don't want to listen, but I know you can hear me," Thor said as kindly as he could manage. There had been too much happening these past few hours; his brother returned from the dead, the Tesseract awakened, returning to earth to find it under attack, and now to think that one of the humans that had showed him such kindness, such an innocent creature, might die. He leaned more against the glass, pleadingly. "Loki, you have always had greater presence with magic than I have; since we were children the simplest of spells eluded me while you grasped conjuring that father took years to master." Thor waited a beat, but there was still no response from his brother, not in expression nor in speaking. He sighed heavily, now speaking desperately. "Brother there are many things that can be forgiven you, all of this madness, if you will but heal Darcy and spare her life."

_Spare her life_, Loki hissed inwardly. _I did not harm her, her death is not on my hands_!

Coulson glanced around anxiously and turned to Thor. "You've got 20 seconds and then we have to leave, fast," he whispered.

Thor frowned at the defiance toward goodness in his brother and shook his head. "I had changed, and now you've changed. You are a number of things, brother, so many things, but not a murderer," he said softly. Loki sat more upright at this and glanced over his shoulder a little. Coulson took Thor by the arm and whispered that he had to get back down to the bridge where Fury could see him. "I know you wouldn't have tried to kill her, this is an illness, her mortality," Thor continued pleadingly. "But to let her die is murder. Is this how you would rule their kind? With indifference to their frailty?"

"Go," Coulson finally said more loudly and firmly. Thor looked at him angrily and then back at his brother sadly, shaking his head. He huffed and hurried away, hoping to reason with Fury more physically while Coulson was not as able to intervene. The agent slowly turned and glanced at the trickster who turned and faced the man as his brother disappeared down the hallway. Loki stared into the man's eyes with something other than contempt and something less than curiosity. They held one another's gazes for a moment until Coulson broke the silence. "It's always a shame to lose a fellow agent," Coulson added with a tinge of grief filling the air. "It just seems more sad that it's essentially just a little girl. She wasn't even finished with school yet and now. . ." Coulson trailed off and shook his head. "I guess you win this one; one more human, another agent, another hero . . . dead."

"You may think many things of me, mortal, now and in the future," Loki said slowly and firmly, prompting Coulson to remain in place as the trickster turned and faced him. His eyes were wild with fretting and anger, a hint of fear in them as well that a plan had gone too well in some regard either with Darcy or with being taken captive. Coulson looked back at him emotionlessly for the moment. Loki drew in a deep breath, his features twisting with anger as he spoke. "But do not accuse me of that which I have not done."

"You don't want her to die," Coulson remarked, more as an observation than a question. He had seemed far too interested in her state according to the ones that had brought him to the cell than any normal captor. Coulson eyed him carefully for a moment and then took a step closer. Loki sighed and looked down giving a silent yes as the agent turned to leave. Coulson called out once more over his shoulder, "Then do something about it."


	14. A Whole New World

_(((I think all the feedback has given me strength to put in a quick chapter. I am pleased to announce that a mix of inspirations allowed me to write the entire outline for the rest of the story. including 'Some Nights' and 'Without You' that came on the radio and just jumped out at me as being either Loki's inner conflicts, Darcy's personal questions, or the spectrum of their developing relationship (always tentative, but including two more detailed dream sequences and the explanation of Loki's adoption and Darcy's nature), and then this very short chapter by comparison! I wanted all of you to know where his character is going and that, for purposes in this sequence, young boy Loki will be played by Ben Barnes for the moment. Hiddleston is too old to portray this figure from Arabic and Chinese mythology that Darcy fell in love with. The title of the chapter should tell you what he will appear as to her when he finally appears to her to save her life. I'm really enjoying all the twists and turns this one is making along with the symbolisms. By the way; no, I don't kill my main characters. You hear that, Joss 'Coulson-Killing' Whedon? It's not nice to do to your readers or anyone involved in any work of art!)))_

**Chapter 14: A Whole New World**

The moment Loki found himself thinking about returning to Darcy's dreams to heal her was the same moment he truly found himself questioning his own sanity and the motivation behind his actions for the time being. He had come to the conclusion that while the act might have lacked sane principles he himself was sane as he could still question it; however, he had also come to the conclusion that his motivations were flawed and that saving her would likely slow down his plan for at least a day. Still, he could not afford to lose her now; in the very least he could not face his mother again if he let her die. He sat back against the glass wall, still seated on the bench and closed his eyes gently and tried to think of slipping out of the cell first with his own mind and then would come the difficult task of finding his way to her body and her mind as well. It took less than five minutes to find his way along the circuits surrounding the glass cage out of the entrapment and into the rest of the craft along the electric current, using the power of the electricity he knew existed in his mind and cause it to flow along their equipment until he found himself completely detached from his physical form. He spun around for a few moments and trembled with the vibrations of the rest of the equipment until he finally centered himself and felt the presence to move in a controlled direction that he selected instead of flowing with the energy only. He began to try and feel for Darcy's weak pulse once more. His senses flared when he found the direction and the subtle rhythm.

"Alright," he said to himself. "You can do this, you know you can. If you can sneak past Odin into Jotunheim you can certainly slip into that pathetic mortal's mind once more," he continued as he found his way through the hallways and into the room where she lay. He hesitated a moment, unsettled at the sight of the machinery that surrounded her and the unnatural sounds that alerted her caretakers to her natural functions. It was no wonder human physicians were backwards hundreds of years; with sounds like these it was a wonder they recognized the real rhythms of blood and breath in the heart, lungs, and even the mind. He sighed deeply and moved his form towards her brow, exhaling as he slipped in as she inhaled shallowly. "You can do this," he repeated. "You can't lose her, not now."

(*)

Heat continued to radiate throughout the darkness around Darcy. She breathed heavily against the cool stone as it turned warm beneath her heated flesh. The memory of the last time she had been so deep within her own consciousness came back in brief flashes and she remembered the plain, the boy, the storm . . . all of it in turn. Was he somewhere nearby? No, she thought, it would not have gone unnoticed yet. She felt a strange sensation move through her, a cool and strange collection of thoughts and feelings not her own which shocked her for a moment. She coughed a few times, finding it a little difficult to breathe in this oppressive veldt. She held her breath for a moment as she suddenly realized to herself that she wasn't in the open plain . . . someone else was. Even in this state a small grin worked its way across her features.

(*)

He felt himself materialize fully in her unconscious just as he had done before. He quickly remembered the last venture into this vast land and looked down at his hands. He groaned, now able to perceive himself as she did and she clearly wasn't going to see him as more than a child. He whined and flopped to the ground in sheer exasperation and disappointment, drawing his knees up to his chest and beginning to sob at being so shamefully seen. As he wiped his eyes and looked out at the terrain, heat began to overtake him and he suddenly saw a sign form in front of him though smaller and still made of wood reading 'Why are you crying?'.

"Why can't anyone respect me? I'm strong! I can do things!" he shouted, extending both arms in frustration. "I can do things!"

The sign shifted and groaned. 'What kind of things?' it read as the colours on the words began to warp and fade with a sinking of her heart. He scooted forward and took either edge of the sign firmly.

"I can help you, I can heal whatever it is that afflicts you from within, I have the power," he said sternly. The sign almost seemed to sigh as its letters changed and again faded for a beat. He frowned and gingerly stroked one of the edges. "I can keep you from death."

'Where would you start?' the sign asked.

"Your defenses, of course," he replied remembering what little he knew of human anatomy and physiology. It had been a brief fascination for him in his studies of magic, science, and medicine (a practice all sorcerers had to learn in case they were called to a battlefield or accompanied a warrior). "Show me where the fever is."

Loki felt himself shift and the feel of the clothes around him change in the heat, a welcome change as they seemed less and tremendously easier to breathe in. He suddenly noticed himself feeling less small and wondered if that was something to take note of as well. He stood as the ground began to tremble beneath him and the dying grass of the plain suddenly became sand. Faint sitar and flute music played in the background and Loki was reminded of the memories of some of the eastern men that had been guarding the Tesseract under his watch. What in all the worlds was it doing in her mind? Suddenly, the sign grew as well, changing into a more round shape and reading in brilliant, albeit somewhat faded, letters 'Autoimmunity Region – Leuko-Site: White Cell Warfare Next 5 feet'.

"Well this is unusual," he muttered. Again, his voice sounded young, but not as young as it had been. He stopped for a moment and contemplated asking her what she saw him as now, but felt it best revealed later. "Only one way to," he continued to himself. "Forward."


	15. Arabesque and Ancestry

_(((I thought I'd add some Natasha/Thor interaction; I thought it might be interesting to see a champion from the old world speaking to a type of champion for a newer world.)))_

**Chapter 15: Arabesque and Ancestry**

The heat continued to beat down on Loki's shoulders as he realized that the freely moving clothing had no sleeves and seemed to be moving openly over his chest. Odd, he thought, and yet this is probably the only thing that will keep me from death in this kind of heat. As he walked forward in the desert buildings began to appear only a few feet away. His eyes widened as he noticed the buildings get immediately closer and a great palace that mirrored the great Taj Mahal he had seen in the minds of a few men. He tilted his head and admired the great white structure with gold trim, clearly a palace and not a sepulcher as the original. He slowly moved into what seemed to be a very busy marketplace with strange people muttering in a language he could barely recognize and he was sure that most of them were simply saying the same phrase over and over again. He stopped and watched a trio of children run into the middle of the market street, fighting over a single apple as the people parted and simply turned a blind eye to them. He watched as the children (which seemed strange after having been a child in her dream and now finally seeming larger than creatures here), two large boys and a much smaller one, all fighting furiously though the two larger were definitely getting the upper-hand. He frowned and sneered at the two older boys brutalizing the poor third and immediately stepped closer to them and swiftly took the two larger firmly by their collars.

"Enough!" he shouted, shaking the two boys angrily and hurling them to the side as he reached down and helped the smaller to stand. The boy looked up at him in shock and a small measure of gratitude. He reached down and snatched the apple away before the two boys could do the same. He turned to the smaller and then gestured towards the two. "Are these your friends?" The boy shook his head 'no' and took a step backwards. The two larger watched in slight fear as he turned back to them, still addressing the smaller. "Then what are they?"

"My brothers," he replied quietly, looking down.

"I see," he said, glaring at the two for a moment and then turning his gaze, softening it for the smaller as he knelt to speak to him more directly. "I would tell you to go home with this and have your father sort it out, but I think I know better," he said holding out the fruit to the child.

The boy stared at it uncomfortably, glancing at his brothers and then back at the trickster. He smiled and nodded to the child who accepted it gratefully, smiled, and then turned away running in the opposite direction. He smirked and turned quickly, rising and growling at the two larger, reveling in being taller than another creature and therefore more powerful for the first time in this region. The two boys shouted and ran off just as quickly as he stood and laughed. He shook his head and began walking hurriedly back in the same direction. It had been his experience here that the direction he travelled in didn't matter as much as the manner behind it. Whatever he was seeking, either Darcy knew of it and would, out of the habit of the ordinary female, share it as brashly as possible either through some irritating sign on posts or through some bizarre set of living symbols. He would have no trouble finding his way through the mind of someone as equally curious and keen as this. He moved quickly through the crowd occasionally catching a set of large, brown eyes peeking out at him over a veil and blushing before the young women would turn away snickering and often whispering something to another young woman.

He paused at one that he swore looked exactly like Sif and caught her attention as she stood next to a young woman, a stranger that felt as though she had some familiar meaning to him, who looked as though she was eyeing him just as cautiously. He moved closer to the pair with a pair of questions burning in his mind; 'who are you' to the stranger and 'what are you doing here' to Sif. He stopped as he noticed his own reflection in a mirror as it was set against a wall. He hurried over to it and looked himself over carefully. His eyes widened in amazement and excitement. He wasn't his proper form in waking hours, but this was when he had been at his most muscular, a perfect match for his older brother. His form was the age of a good, solid 18 years by human reckoning and while the plain, tattered pants he wore without shoes and purple vest and very small hat didn't match his form, he marveled at being so well made that he could once more recognize it. He laughed out loud excitedly at the image, taking it all in, every detail that Darcy's mind had somehow seen in him that he had been when he was only somewhat younger. His expression dropped slowly as Sif and the stranger, still dressed in clothes that belonged in the vision, veils and all, yet still quite recognizable in their own senses to him. He turned slowly to face them and took in one face and then the other.

"Who are you?" he asked the stranger. She glanced at Sif and then back at him furiously.

"I'm the reason Thor comes back," she replied hatefully.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her, trying to see where the Tesseract or he himself was reflected in the image of this brown-eyed filly. A thought came to him; was this the woman that had captured Thor's attention? He stared more closely at her and laughed; she was quite plain and seemed very simplistic in her spirit even with anger by comparison to Darcy. Why had his brother chosen this creature when he had a firefly near? Thor was obviously still as blind to what was next to him as he had been to Sif's advances and as ungrateful as Sif had been to Loki's advances. Sif suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. She immediately reached forward and shoved him backwards harshly. He frowned at her in confusion and looked between them. He suddenly noticed the two boys from earlier coming into view and, noticing him, shouted furiously to someone behind them at the notion that 'this was him, he had attacked them'. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of five enormous men all in the same manner of clothes, quite clearly authority figures of some kind. He darted away from the two women and began hurrying away from the scene as quickly as he possibly could.

(*)

Natasha made her way into the medical detainment center, heading towards the room where Darcy lay. Fury had wanted an update as well as for the crew to try and prod Thor back towards him away from Darcy's side. Only moments after he had gone back to the detention deck against Fury's wishes and noticed his brother in a deep trance, he had hurried and had demanded from several operatives 'where the wounded were kept' in a fashion that had made all of them afraid to both answer and remain silent. He had found his way there and asked each of the people standing around them if they were healers. Of course, none of them replied 'yes' and met with a shove out of the way by the warrior. He had then shouted at them to go and see about finding an apothecary before she slipped into a further swoon. The nurses had been unsettled by his presence, but an order from Fury had told everyone on the ship to cooperate with whatever Thor asked short of releasing the hostile captive and simply alert him to Thor's presence. The Russian stood in the doorway, watching him. He clutched one of Darcy's hands gently, reciting something she recognized as purposefully Scandinavian. He softly stroked the side of her face with the other hand.

Natasha moved slowly to his side a safe distance away, continuing to watch. "Who are you praying to?" she asked.

He sighed and finished a sentence before pausing. "My ancestors," he replied heavily. "For her life and Loki."

"I thought you said you weren't really gods," Natasha replied. "Isn't that what you said when Cap confronted you about blasphemy on our way back?"

"Yes, and I promised not to defame the name of your creator, but why should my request have anything to do with that?" he replied before continuing in a hushed tone hurriedly. He felt the widow still watching him and he sighed once more, closing his eyes for a beat and holding back tears of frustration. "My ancestors guided my father into battle; they will guide my brother in his efforts."

Natasha's eyes widened. "You didn't . . ." she whispered. She turned her head and spoke hurriedly into her Bluetooth for Fury to have the detention deck thoroughly checked. Thor smirked.

"I did not release him, you would have heard that," he said, smoothing a lock of hair away from Darcy's face. "But he is within her mind and body, he will heal her."

"I find that difficult to believe," Natasha said bitterly with her mind torn between a very small drop of nagging pity for this girl and potential source of information and Clint.

Thor frowned and looked towards her. "Even after knowing me?"

"Even after knowing you," she confirmed, lifting her brow for stern emphasis on the disbelief.

He shook his head and looked back at the peaceful image of Darcy and, without a doubt, the spirit of his brother. "Then you don't know Loki."

"Do you?" she asked with a scornful chuckle.

"Of course," he replied with a rising tone of disdain for her accusatory words. He gave her a sharp look for a moment. "He is my brother, by blood or otherwise; he has taken lives here," Thor admitted unhappily. As he clasped Darcy's hand more tightly he grinned. "But he has saved many lives elsewhere, not the least of which my own."

"That was before he knew things were different with him, you said so," she corrected.

"No," Thor replied flatly. "Part of him always knew things were different." He sighed and shook his head. "And it never mattered to either of us."

(*)

"Where do you mean for me to go, you fool?" he hissed to Darcy's mind as he moved, not as oppressed by the heat as he had been before being distracted by the sight of his childhood crush. "I can't help you running from Barbarians!"

He glanced behind him as he ran, easily dodging passersby that almost got in the way. He grinned at how quickly he was able to move in this vision and how perfectly his dexterity was performing for him. He laughed as he glanced over his shoulder once more, noting that he was a good distance ahead of the two little whelps and the officials now. The merriment was cut short when he slammed, face-first, into a large wooden sign. He toppled backwards and groaned loudly, clutching his brow and looking up at the sign angrily.

'Look where you're going, _**you fool**_,' the sign replied, obviously annoyed with his question from before. He noticed a hanging arrow pointing towards an open door dangling from the bottom of the sign shakily as it recovered from his injury. He huffed and climbed to his feet quickly, hurrying into the building and ducking under a large couch with a narrow space to the ground. He was sure he could fit and when he found that, for the first time in years his musculature wouldn't allow it, he grunted in frustration and slammed a fist onto the floor. The sand on the floor, in darker shades, shifted and formed words. 'That hurt! Didn't you see the stairs? Use them and quit running into things and hitting them, it hurts!'

"Not my fault, you twit," Loki growled back angrily. He suddenly noticed the set of darkened stairs and hurried towards them as he heard the voices of the men getting closer. He noticed a set of symbols on the wall spelling out 'Yes, it is, you're clumsy!' He frowned and glared at it as he disappeared into the room above. A bright blue glow caught his eye and he was immediately drawn to it. The azure tones swirled and shifted; it was an exact match for the Tesseract itself. He grinned brightly and hastened towards it more happily than to anything else he had done in this realm. As he reached out for it his expression changed slowly to confusion as the shape of it became clear and it was not the cube. It appeared to be an old oil lamp. He sighed and took it quickly, glancing it over cautiously. "What in the name of the ancient kings . . ."

"Hey, Mac, there are people coming. You looking for something specific or just taking in the scenery?" it said in a strange, masculine, and decidedly American voice. He could tell it was the blue lamp speaking not merely because of the direction of the sound, but because it felt almost as though the object was breathing in his grasp. "You here for the princess?"

"Oh for goodness' sake, she's a princess here?" he asked with a groan.

"Hey, I didn't make this stuff up, alright? All girls are princesses at some point, man, just go with it. Now, you need to get to the palace, right?" the lamp corrected hotly. It was literal as Loki noted not only the lamp suddenly increase in temperature which caused him to look more carefully for a flame, but the air around him grew warmer as well.

"Yes, if she is there," he replied carefully.

"Yeah, she's there. She's in the meningial menagerie," the lamp said. "You get out through the window and just go straight ahead, up on the awnings and over the wall into the palace. The signs'll take you the rest of the way."

"You want me to leap out the window and then head forward and then go up?!" Loki exclaimed in exasperation. "How in the world would that even begin to make sense?!"

"I said, use the awnings, man, just keep going until you find the palace wall," the lamp replied more loudly, beginning to shake. "Now set me down, they're heading up the stairs. I'll distract them!"

"Thank you," he said quickly and set it down on a nearby table and moving towards the window as the men's voices grew louder once more.

"Get going, Mustafa, before you get caught!" the lamp shouted.

He nodded and hurried to the window, looking out at the back streets and their brightly coloured awnings lining their sides and their pattern leading to the outer palace wall at the center of the city. He drew in a deep breath as he leapt from the room onto the first and suddenly found himself bouncing upward far higher than he had anticipated. He cried out as he began to hurtle towards the ground once more. His eyes widened in horror until another bright green awning suddenly appeared outside one of the windows beneath him and he bounced upward again, dodging a blast of fireworks coming from the window he had leapt from with uproarious laughter coming from the lamp. He grinned for a moment and then suddenly realizing he was up in the air yet again and now he was heading back for terra incognita. He managed to aim himself more precisely this time and when he felt himself fly back up into the air he caught sight of the palace and grinned more brightly. He was getting dizzy like this, but he had a clear shot to the palace in three leaps if he maneuvered carefully. The dizzying effect of the jumping was making it terribly difficult to aim properly and he had to settle for 5 awkward jumps instead of 3 graceful bounds as he soared over the wall. He shouted in terror as the ground suddenly began to hurry up towards him and he realized that he was nowhere near a safe surface.

"Darcy!" he shouted. "Help!"


	16. Turn Loose The Menagerie!

_Ah, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year! Some of the most incredible screen names have been popping up in my followers box for this story and it delights me to think that each of you might represent those traits! Kudos to all of you that caught the 'Aladdin' imagery and for this Halloween Special chapter Darcy will briefly appear as Sharon Da Silva in child form (the Dark Place chapters will be the most interesting journey I have ever taken with a fiction since I don't actually like Silent Hill, but am fascinated with the imagery and it seems appropriate that a damaged little girl would relate to that as being a place of evil). I hope everyone is ready for the big day, days, night, or nights; however you choose to celebrate your triumph over fear and death (or even the ancient new year like I do)!_

_Here are some things for you to have fun searching for throughout the chapter, though:_

_1). A reference to Scooby Doo_

_2). References to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (including the real name of the nearby village)_

_3). An image from 'Sleepy Hollow'_

_4). A gesture from 'Bewitched'_

_5). A character from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'_

_6). The imagery of 'Silent Hill'_

_7). The laughter of the Headless Horseman!_

**Chapter 16: Turn Loose the Menagerie! **

Loki felt the ground beneath him before he could find his senses enough to land comfortably. To his surprise he didn't seem to be mortally wounded even after having fallen to what would've been the death of any other creature in the waking world. He sat upright and looked himself over, not seeing any terrible wounds or bleeding lacerations. He breathed deeply and straightened himself as he stood, the heat growing all the more intense here than it had been outside. He noticed a bright glowing sign appear on the wall in front of him with the same arrow from the sign before, this time pointing towards 'The Meningial Menagerie'. There were a few others and the palace seemed to be otherwise uninhabited as he moved through it. The signs led him through so many twists and turns in the hallways that he feared perhaps Darcy's fever had grown too great and she was losing her senses. He leaned against one of the walls as the heat grew even greater and then withdrew almost as quickly, shouting in pain as the wall seemed to burn even more than the lamp had. A brighter sign appeared directly in front of him stating that the menagerie was in the next room.

"I hope for your sake it is," he mumbled, rubbing his shoulder as the burning left to the best his body within her mind could manage with the heat still permeating everything. He stepped through the doorway and stood perfectly still at the strange sight that met him.

The rest of the palace, while empty, had been well furnished and luxuriously decorated in Moorish colours and patterns. This was a bare room. It was blank stone from ceiling to floor on every wall with only a small amount of light filtering in as the sun began to set. The only reason that this room could've been called a menagerie was that it was positively filled with tigers. All of the orange and black cats, enormous and sinewy, were sleeping soundly around a large stone bench at the room's center. He narrowed his eyes at it and suddenly noticed the form of Darcy, lying very still and barely breathing as he took a step closer. While he knew the tigers weren't real, it still seemed intimidating for whatever reason, for her to be so surrounded by these massive beasts. They were hardly the usual size for a tiger and seemed as though they had all seen a fight or two from the tears on their fur and some of them with claws still outstretched. He halted and turned to the corner of the room farthest from him horizontally and noticed a large fountain towards the back of the room which seemed to flow through the wall. He darted back out of the room momentarily to see if it was now flowing into the next room. He stared at it in disbelief, not sure how he hadn't noticed the glowing white waters in the fountain that coursed through the room at the very end and through a hole in the backmost wall here as well. It must've flowed into all the other rooms.

Loki approached Darcy carefully, glancing at the nearest tigers nervously. What was he supposed to do here? This made absolutely no sense for the moment. Was he supposed to kill the tigers, take her from the room, or perhaps the fountain needed to be used somehow. As he stepped closer the tigers immediately nearest Darcy began glowing with a brighter reddish orange. They stirred as the trickster froze and stared at the creatures who quickly opened their eyes which were a frightening glowing red. The rest of the tigers in the room stirred as well and within a few seconds all were on their feet and growling softly. The ones nearest him took a step forward as he did the same backwards. The heat in the room intensified and he realized that these creatures must've in some strange way represented her fever, the infection, or both. He watched as Darcy groaned and shifted uncomfortably, mumbling to herself. He sighed heavily and felt himself grow desperate to escape this room and the heat. He darted forward and tried to reach the stone where Darcy lay, but the tiger nearest him leapt upward and attacked. He halted and scooted back, his head beginning to ache under the heat and desperation.

_The fountain_, he thought to himself quickly_. I need water, something, anything to stop this madness_.

He moved hurriedly to the fountain and knelt beside it, reaching into the water. He could tell that the water was cool and refreshing, just not to him. This was the strangest thing. He knew that it was soothing, but he had no relief, none at all. He panted heavily and knelt in front of the fountain, hearing the tigers growling not far away. This was ludicrous. He had no idea what he was doing and even though he could maneuver and guide her functions from a reasonable angle as with any mammal, he had come to the conclusion that there were no reasonable angles in her mind whatsoever. Everything was cryptic and deranged, one meaning hiding another and either likely to change at any minute. He noticed a glint out of the corner of his eye and his vision suddenly settled upon the image of several glistening silver bowls. He narrowed his eyes at them and contemplated the idea of taking one of them filled with the crystalline fluid to soothe the fever. He reached out for one of the bowls, grasping it gracefully just as a tiger moved to his side, snarling and hissing angrily. He remained perfectly still for a beat, staring at the beast's enormous red eyes and unusually fiery coloured fur. His eyes widened and a glimmer of hope moved through him.

The tigers, they were the fever! He quickly slipped the bowl into the fountain and shoved it towards the furious feline. It sniffed at the bowl for a moment and then began to ravenously drink from it. Loki watched in confusion as the fluid filled the tiger's mouth, but didn't seem to diminish in capacity within the bowl. The tiger itself was now no longer growling, but making odd howls from deep within its throat as its bones and muscles began to strangely shift and moan with a sickening crackle. He watched in amazement as the creature shrank into a curious, writhing pile of fur, then a cub, and then with a loud _**pop**_ . . . nothing.

Another tiger leapt forward, this time almost catching him in the face with one paw. Loki stumbled backwards and grabbed another bowl, catching himself on the edge of the fountain as the tiger stood before him. Another had come up to the bowl from the first and was beginning to drink, but this one needed its own. He quickly filled the bowl and thrust it towards the beast. A thought came to him and he hurriedly snatched bowl after bowl, filling it with fluid and then shoving them into a silvery moat surrounding the fountain itself. In a matter of minutes, the entire streak of tigers was diminished to one and then . . . _**POP**_! The heat had cleared and the room and the tigers were gone. He breathed heavily and watched as Darcy slowly began to stir. He smiled and moved towards the bench as she sat upright, holding her head. She was no longer in her common Midgardian attire, but was clad in pale, blue silk that shamed many of the courtesans of the old east. He had watched Midgard's wars and worries every few decades or so for amusement and she would've easily fit into the gems of a sultan's harem like this, not something he had envisioned before. Now that he saw it, part of him liked it and craved it. He shook that part away as she groaned and turned slowly watching as he approached, catching a look at him.

"It never ceases to amuse at how easily your physiologies triumph when under the right guidance," he said with a laugh. Darcy stared at him in disbelief. He sighed heavily. "What now?"

"Aladdin?!" Darcy exclaimed.

Loki frowned at her and dropped both arms at his sides in frustration. "Will you never recognize me in your own form in these dreams? Perhaps if you wouldn't re-assign my perception to your baser instincts then I might seem to you as I should and things would be done more quickly in this never ending madness," he replied.

"Well excuse me for not recognizing the God of Mischief in a Disney classic," she retorted with a huff. "What's going on, anyway? Did we make it on board the ship or whatever? Did you get away and take me with you, what?"

"You'll be at the mercy of your heroes when you awaken if that makes you feel more at ease," he offered begrudgingly. "You're lucky I didn't abandon you as I had considered. Those feeble-minded fools failed to recognize the simplicity of the notion that altitude aggravates common pathogens and their respective conditions."

"Right . . . so from what I saw through this haze, and it was like really, really weird and stuff, those tigers were like germs and that water was like lymph or something. I essentially took care of it with my own body so, why are you here?" she asked, standing and folding her arms as he took a seat nearest her.

"Because your frailties required guidance in battling a fever which I had nothing to do with I might add," he interjected, raising a hand for emphasis. "Without me you would be dead right now and I would be more rested."

"I could've done it, popped every one of those tigers, if I'd brought my taser," Darcy replied with a coquettish grin and girlish swaying with both hands folded neatly behind her. Loki raised a brow at her reproachfully. "I can do anything while it's with me."

"Speaking thusly," he said, a question crossing his mind that had crossed it several times before now, but never for very long. "I know that you are weak and vulnerable despite some . . . subtle, if you will, peculiarities. But out of sheer morbid curiosity, why do you carry a weapon if you are but a student or a page to scholars?"

"Huh?" Darcy asked, straightening her glasses even in dreams. She stared at him as he gazed back at her with defined and unyielding inquisition. She scratched her head for a moment. She hadn't thought about the reason itself for a long, long time and she certainly didn't want to share something so personal with him. She looked away as Loki waited patiently, reaching out and taking her hand gently. Suddenly, the room around them burst into flames. Darcy screamed, leaping like a terrified Great Dane into Loki's arms as he shouted in terror as well. She buried her head against his chest as the flames began to die, leaving not the palace or the grassy plain, but a burnt field with a dismal pathway leading over some gray hills with a dingy town shrouded by a heavy, dark cloud in the distance. Loki stared at the scene in amazement and gently pushed Darcy away, standing slowly and gazing at the sight with intense bewilderment. There was nothing else like this in Darcy's mind. She leapt to her feet and suddenly grabbed him by the arm, pulling him backwards. He realized now that he was much, much taller and he felt incredibly strong. He grinned brightly as he also realized that the vest and tattered pants were gone and he felt completely comfortable. He must've been back to his true form now. He drew in a deep breath, nostrils flaring with renewed vigour as his eyes glowed with a brilliant spark of curiosity that he hadn't known for years. Darcy spoke in a low, whisper. "We shouldn't go there . . . we shouldn't be near it."

"What is it?" he asked, taking a few strides forward. Darcy let out a tiny shriek which prompted a chuckle from the trickster, truly enjoying her off moments in her own mind. "This is the most intriguing part of you yet. What is it?"

"This is the dark place! It's where I keep things like fear and resentment and . . . wait a minute! Why am I telling you that?!" she said shaking herself and glaring at him angrily. She pulled against his arm more furiously finding herself growing weaker in her grip. Loki turned and noted that Darcy seemed to be in a child-like form. He stared at her in amazement as she appeared to shrink down to a child of no more than seven years herself, dressed no longer in the princess's attire, but in a typical pinafore and plain blue dress, very much like a little girl from anywhere in her realm. He continued to move forward, now taking her by the hand and moving swiftly. "Loki, really, we can't go in there. I don't even go in there except maybe to the outskirts or something every Halloween when things are supposed to be scary."

An enormous flaming pumpkin suddenly rose up out of the ground. The two froze as it gained full height and then began to shoot flames from the eye sockets and mouth with a horrid laugh that sounded all too much like the Hessian from America's oldest ghost story . . . the Headless Horseman. She let out a terrified shriek and flew behind the trickster, clinging tightly to the robes and tunic around him, hiding herself in his posture. He stared at the gourd-lantern for a moment and then glanced behind him, smirking and sniggering at the sight of the young girl clinging to him. "I suppose your feast of the dead is always alive in some frightened part of you. That's where death resides in the minds of mortals, after all," he observed with a laugh, turning back to the lantern. He reached out to touch the orange surface, fascinated by its glow. "And what is this?"

"It's a jack-o-lantern, like the one in Sleepy Hollow that almost broke Ichabod Crane's head wide open," Darcy explained in a pitiful whine. Loki smiled back at her, placing his hand comfortingly on the top of her head and stroking her long, dark hair.

"So this must be your 'Sleepy Hollow' then. Tarrytown, I believe it's called, I read the story many, many years ago. Not far from where the Tesseract is waiting," he mused with a grin. Darcy froze at the news, waiting for him to react to having given away such a thing. She looked up at him in confusion as he continued to reach out for the lantern. She buried her head yet again, trying to wake, but finding it too difficult feeling so frightened. As his hand grazed the waxy, hard surface, the flames enveloped the entire oddity, causing him to withdraw his hand quickly and stare at it in amazement. The flames licked around what was now becoming a sign. He watched as the flickering tongues, orange, yellow, and red, slowly died down and faded into a large wooden sign on two posts. The sign was filthy and had clearly been through more than one incineration with red writing and two electric lights hanging over the top. Darcy gasped in horror as she felt compelled to look at it as well.

"Oh my gosh," Darcy muttered in shock.

"Welcome to Silent Hill?" Loki asked as he read the vermillion print on the sign aloud. He turned back to Darcy for a moment in confusion. "That was not a place mentioned in the legend."

"It's not a legend, it's a nightmare," she whispered, drawing in shallow but sharp breaths and tightening her grip on his arm. "This isn't just my dark place . . . it's _**THE**_ dark place!"

"Explain," he said calmly.

"What do you mean explain?!" She shoved his arm harshly away from her and stumbled backwards a step or so, panting and glaring at him. "It's Silent Hill! Everyone and everything dies in there . . . violently! Nothing good ever happens there, it's Silent _friggin'_ Hill!"

"How do you know my mother?" he quickly asked in bewilderment.

"Urgh! You are so dense and we can't be here! You want to be standing around chatting when Pyramid Head comes up and starts slashing at you from the underground?!" she shouted in frustration. He raised a brow at her once more as she moved closer. Her features suddenly shifted to a more somber yet pleading gaze and he watched, intrigued and frightened, as her eyes slowly changed, grew larger and darker until it looked as though she had nothing but enormous, terrified pupils and both were blaming his very existence for every harm that had come to her. "You don't get it. You won't learn anything about me in there. The only thing that happens to people in there is they scream . . . and burn."

"Why?" he asked emotionlessly.

"There is no _**why**_!" she shouted angrily. "Loki, that place is hell . . . my hell. And you probably won't like it, either."

"To be sure one would have to venture in . . ." he mused, taking one small step forward.

"I carry a taser because I'm lousy at fighting back!" she shouted angrily. He turned and glanced back at her as if awaiting a punch-line. She frowned and shook her head, looking away. "I carry it because deep down I'm afraid and I know I can't defend myself without it."

"All well and good, a portion of the answer that I expected, but that doesn't tell me exactly why you carry it," he corrected. "I still need to know what prompted you to begin carrying it."

"It's none of your gosh-darn business, alright?!" she snapped furiously.

"Is it impossible for you to be genuinely furious like this?" he laughed. He knelt as she took a step back and glared angrily at him. He gestured towards her with amusement. "I never thought I would say this but I think as children mortals are far more tolerable. You're almost pleasant to look at and your voice is greatly improved even without a single change to your character."

"Wow, now _**I**_ hate _**you**_," she said. With the last two words coming out as a strange guttural growl from what Loki could only conclude were four incredibly angered voices. "You selfish, spiteful, cretin!"

"Darcy, what's happened to you?" he asked carefully, rising and moving backwards as her blank, black eyes burned into him and the growls from the other four voices began to heavily breathe and rasp angrily, incoherently. He raised a hand as she advanced towards him.

"You're forgetting, something, Loki. You're a captive, too; and you're not in charge of anyone even when I'm at my worst in here."

"I could leave if I choose this time, Darcy," he said defensively. "It's different when I have come to you in a weakened state with a greater purpose."

"That's not what I meant," she said, the other voices growing more loud and her eyes widening as her skin grew even more pale. He stumbled backwards and gasped as one of the voices rang out clearly in a gruff, all too familiar voice. "_**Your ambition is little, and born of childish need**_."

Loki's eyes widened in horror and Darcy froze, covering her mouth. She let out a small squeak as the other three voices faded and she slowly warped and grew back into her normal form. She stared at him in disbelief for a moment and then, trembling, looked down at her hands. She shuddered harder as a bell began to toll in the distance. Loki frowned and turned back to the sign. He narrowed his eyes at the darkened distance as a slow, steady stream of snow began to fall. Odd, he thought. There had been no significant drop in temperature and he couldn't see his own breath. Her dream worlds defied more than nature's own rules. He reached out and caught one of the flakes, admiring it for a beat and then staring at his hand with a strange foreboding forming within him. The snowflake was gray and its slick grayish colour spread over his fingers as he rubbed the flake between them. Ash, he realized to himself. Had the fires from the pumpkin carving spread throughout the rest of the landscape the way it had spread over the sign?

"We need to leave, it's not safe to be here when the darkness starts to fall," Darcy said, breaking his train of thought and stepping backwards. The bell continued to toll accompanied by the chilling bay of a wolf somewhere else. She reached for him and held out her hand. "Come on, we can't stay here."

"Very well, then," he muttered, backing away and cautiously taking her hand. Her normal clothes and form had returned inexplicably and suddenly. Darcy groaned and gripped his hand more tightly, hauling them both in the opposite direction as a thick, gray fog moved over them from the darkened city. Darcy carefully kept her eyes attuned to the path in front of them and she thought of how best to get rid of this situation. How would one get away completely from the place that held their deepest fears and most horrifying secrets? A dark grin crossed her features and the ashen fog slowly began to thin into a stale haze instead of the overbearing cloud it had been before. She grinned more brightly as greenish grass and fallen leaves began to appear on the path and the images of old, bent trees twisted towards the sky around them. She stifled a giddy chuckle and intertwined her fingers around his and felt him give her a confused stare as he noticed the landscape had changed though not back to the verdant field that made up the benign between place in her mind. "Where are we going?"

"You know where we're going," she replied with a wink. Loki frowned at her but continued to follow for lack of any other suitable alternative. She halted and so did he as a very strange, very bent, and almost grotesque tree loomed at the top of a short hill in front of them. Darcy gestured towards it. "There it is."

"There what is?" he asked in confusion.

Darcy folded her arms and straightened her glasses with a triumphant smirk. "The Tree of the Dead," she explained. Loki stared at it in disgust as he noted the misshapen face that seemed to be etched naturally into its bark where the primary branches bearing leaves now lay bare. Two other branches protruded from its crude, graying bark and it appeared to be turning back to face them with a howl of agony as they stood looking at it. "It's not just the entranceway to Sleepy Hollow, it's a gateway between worlds."

"If this is a tree of death, then why is it not in your dark place?" he asked in confusion. He gestured towards it with exasperation. "Do you not fear death in nature itself, only in cities?"

"This is technically still a dark place, just not mine," she said with a happy sigh. He stared at her in complete bewilderment and huffed angrily. She wouldn't tell him why exactly she carried the weapon and it seemed to be a disturbing wreck trying to get her to rationalize through fear. He shook his head and began to climb the hill towards the tree, still following the path. He should've known better than to expect a mere mortal to rationalize their way through fear. She had reverted and practically become violent in the process, not something he wanted to deal with sequestered in the enemy stronghold. He turned to glance behind him when he noticed that Darcy hadn't followed him up to the tree. "The fever's obviously gone and I can control this stuff again; still think you're superior when you're in my head?"

"Of course," he replied, leaning against the tree casually, unaware of the hole in the trunk nearest him at the elbow. Darcy grinned and lifted her chin proudly, biting her lip anxiously as he stared back down at her with disdain. She wiggled her nose three times as he arrogantly gestured back towards the shrinking horror behind them. Darcy concentrated on the hole in the trunk and what she was creating with it, which were going completely unnoticed for the time being. He was too enveloped in his own gloating for the moment and partially still recovering from hearing the eerie voice of The One coming from the lips of Darcy as an innocent child. "There are, after all, no places in my mind that I cannot access because of some ridiculous weakness." Darcy sighed and shook her head as she watched the apparition pull itself more fully from the trunk and loom over him menacingly. "In fact, the entirety of my mind, while probably far too complex for you to grasp, would be brilliantly schemed and decidedly open. You would be hard pressed to find anything hidden though more vast and deep than the whole of the nine realms."

"Yeah, you're an open book the size of War and Peace, I got it," she said with a shrug. "But we're not in your mind."

"Clearly," he said with a snort. "I would not have succumbed to fear like that." Loki turned to continue walking away from the girl in sheer frustration and disappointment, having healed her and she had done nothing for him in return; he stopped abruptly and screamed at the top of his lungs at the sight of a skeleton creature coming out of the trunk of the tree. It outstretched its arms and roared at him as he tumbled backwards down the hill, shrinking and warping back into his child form as he did so. Darcy laughed heartily as he landed in a crumpled, embarrassed heap at her feet. She knelt and tried to help him stand, only to be shoved away as harshly as he could manage back in his smaller form.

"Gotcha again, you dismal little dickens!" she laughed. Darcy looked back at the tree and winked at the skeleton who did the same with an entirely too toothy grin as it disappeared. Darcy sighed heavily as the fog, the forest, and the worn path faded away with her last few laughs. Loki snarled at the green landscape forming around them and the cool gray sky. He fought back any further shows of emotion. He had almost won the upper-hand, almost. Darcy sighed heavily and flopped down beside him as he sat down and angrily folded his knees against his chest. "Come on, now. That wasn't completely traumatic; you're still in one piece and the Pumpkin King is gone."

"Your mind is an unintelligible labyrinth! Are you ever constant in thought or steady in emotion? You change and shift and a host of images shift with you!" he shouted spitefully. She stared at him uneasily as he looked away, clearly hiding his reaction in some respect. He sighed and looked down once more. Humiliation, that was clear, she thought. He hated being drawn back to this younger form no matter how fun it might've been for both of them. He hugged his knees tightly. "You mock me with your incessant weaknesses, projecting them at me no matter what I do for you."

"Aw come on, little man," she said, pulling him into a slight embrace, despite his resistance. "You did good. And . . . um . . . thank you."

"I didn't do it for you," he replied in practically a scathing venomous tone.

"Well, whatever the reason I'm glad I'm not dead in a Jasmine get-up in a room full of crazy tigers in the sweltering heat," she said with a shrug. "And if it makes you feel any better I still have nightmares sometimes about skeletons, even the cartoony ones."

He sighed heavily but sat more upright at the sound of his brother's voice. He looked up at the sky and then in several other directions, narrowing his eyes and trying to determine what was going on. He could hear his brother announcing something while other unfamiliar voices swarmed the girl's senses, trying to rouse her. He frowned and shook his head. Another span of time wasted in this empty vacuum and he had nothing to show for it. He hadn't even been able to maneuver past her fears for an answer. It was now burning the very core of him to think that he had been so close to controlling her with fear and she had cajoled her way out of it. Darcy seemed to notice the voices as well and sighed, putting an arm around him and kissing the top of his head gratefully.

"They'll think it was him when you awaken," he muttered unhappily. Darcy stared at him in confusion for a moment and then heard Thor's voice once more, understanding what the youth had meant. She patted his shoulder affectionately. "They always think it was him when something goes right."

"Don't worry, I'll set it straight," she offered kindly. He huffed and continued to look away ashamedly. Darcy frowned and kissed the top of his head once more. "We should be getting back, though, before October really does roll around."

"You really should try and remain unseen until I am finished and come for you from here on out," he added glumly. "I can't protect you leading an army."

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, putting her arms more fully around him and pulling him against her chest. He reveled in the stronger, fuller sound of her heartbeat and relaxed into the embrace as light began to filter through the gray sky. "See you when you wake up, then," she said.

"Doubtful," he replied, his words casting a more dismal aura over the remnants of the landscape than any of the images could've done.


	17. Natalia's Ledger

**Chapter 17: Natalia's Ledger **

Air rushed into the trickster's lungs with a shocking cold. He coughed and sat forward, clutching his chest and gasping for breath as his lungs violently rejected being so fully used once again. He forced himself to stand, prompting blood to flow more rapidly into his extremities and away from his head for a moment. He leaned forward against one of the metal portions of the cage and steadied himself for a few beats. It hadn't been entirely a waste to enter her mind this time. He smirked at the small victory. Fear preserved her and what a powerful, dark preservation it was. Whatever darkness that had taken her and prompted her to carry the taser in days past, it was clearly enough to make her perceive a greater measure of power subconsciously than even Agent Barton had. She didn't perceive it on the surface, but cornered or within the confines of unconsciousness, she was beyond a firebrand. He sighed and slumped back down on the seat, still clutching the wall as he smiled to himself. Oh yes, Darcy's secret was unraveling and he would be there for every step deeper into the sundry details that acted as her defense. He stood slowly once more and began to pace back and forth, waiting for either another confrontation with his brother demanding to know where the cube was located, or for several more of the armored agents to lead him away to whatever tortures Nick Fury could devise to visit on him until he divulged its location. He stood for a moment thinking about which he would rather endure and then continued pacing.

(*)

Darcy groaned loudly as she sifted through the maze of voices and bright white light that had consumed her. It felt almost as if she was surfacing after a dive into the deepest part of a swimming pool filled with ether. She drew in sharp breaths as she began to feel a chill descending over her. She could hear Thor's voice briefly but then a woman's voice firmly telling him that Director Fury needed desperately to speak with him. It was the last she heard of the warrior's voice as several physicians began looking her over more cautiously and a set of nurses took vital signs. Her heart began to race, a symptom that one of the nurses announced quite loudly to the others, as she felt a set of restraints fastened around her wrists and ankles. _Of course_, she thought with irritation; _if they think I'm working with him then they're not just going to keep me in a medical facility with my freedom intact. I'm going to crack him up the side of the head the next chance I get_. She cried out and jerked her head back as someone shone a bright light into her eyes.

"Whatever it was that got a hold of her with that staph infection it's made her eyes change, but she's reacting to the light so she's not blind," a male physician stated, taking down the notation of his finding.

"That's not part of the fever, that's what Loki does to his minions," the female's voice announced again. Darcy froze at the tone and unique forced American accent. It was Natasha and she must've been here to ensure that an enemy was questioned properly and didn't start any trouble for the medical staff on duty. "Is she recovered enough to answer a few questions?"

"If you think she's been brainwashed then no, she might be able to speak but she won't be able to answer you. It might even do more harm to ask her if she's under some kind of hypnosis," the physician replied. "Some cases of altered consciousness in victims can turn into psychoses if their reality is too greatly challenged by someone."

"I'm not brainwashed," Darcy said quickly as she instinctively reached up with both hands, attempting to rub her eyes. She groaned and closed them tightly for a moment, breathing sharply as she told herself to not fight against anything they had done and seem like a threat. It was abnormal even for an innocent person, but she had learned a great deal about panicked psyche in her social psychology lessons which made this situation somewhat easier to handle. Instead she slowly opened her eyes a fraction and tried to let them adjust to the light. Natasha sighed and turned to the medical team with a stern glare. The group finished their superficial work and informed the agent that they would need to do a more thorough exam within an hour since there was still no telling how much the infection had done in the way of damage to all of her systems. The fever was gone for now and consciousness had returned; that was all that mattered to Natasha and the thought that this young woman had answers made any treatment or tests second to what Fury had asked for. Darcy watched anxiously as the medical team reluctantly left, reminding Natasha that they would be back before an hour passed. She nodded once to them and raised a brow to emphasize the need for them to leave. As soon as the two were alone, Darcy resituated herself as best she could into sitting upright against the pillow. Her clothes had been removed and a typical thin cloth gown was in their place. She sighed and looked at Natasha unsettled.

"So you think he hasn't gotten to you? Is that it?" Natasha asked, folding her arms. "You can't recognize it once it's happened to you?"

"Actually, from what I understand in as much as he's told me, he just used magic to make my eyes look like I was under his power. I got on one of his last nerves and this is how he's punishing me," she explained with a shrug, emphasizing her innocence as best she could. "I don't know if he was planning on making it permanent or what, but he thought it was amusing to see how other people treated me looking like this. Oh! And he said a few seconds ago before the dark place that I would be at the mercy of S.H.I.E.L.D. when I woke up so he's counting on none of you believing me."

"The dark place?" Natasha asked.

"It's part of my psyche, but that's not the point," Darcy said squinting once more as a stab of pain rang loudly in the front of her head. She was sure that there was some sort of obnoxious hum that only she could hear internally and its volume was making her nauseated quickly. "I think I know where the cube is."

Natasha quickly unfolded her arms and moved to stand next to the bed where Darcy sat. She looked down at the girl expectedly and waited a beat. Darcy said nothing, breathing heavily and trying to blot out the nausea, the pain, and the anxiety at her predicament. Natasha grew impatient and grabbed her shoulders, looking deeply into her now eerie and unnaturally bluish white eyes. "Where is the Tesseract?"

"He said it wasn't far from Tarrytown, that's in New York," she replied. Natasha looked her over with concern. "There were all sorts of weird nightmarish things in that dream and when I thought about Sleepy Hollow he mentioned that it was fitting since the cube wasn't far from there."

"You think he was speaking literally and not referring to the notion that the cube wasn't far from your dark place?" Natasha asked cautiously.

"Pretty sure," Darcy said, shaking her head and groaning. "I don't see him using metaphors in the psychological sense."

"And I don't see him just mentioning that in a dream," Natasha replied. "If he doesn't have you under his control and he knew that we would try to get answers from you, what would keep him from giving you false information to feed to us?"

"Good point, but why would you even bother to ask me anything if you thought he'd be feeding you something false through me?" Darcy said with a frown. It had seemed strange for him to have given something so crucial away. He hadn't tried to correct himself at all or threaten her into not speaking. She sighed and laid her head back for a moment, still keeping eye contact with the spy. "It would be worth it to at least take a look and see if he's got it stashed somewhere in New York. I mean, you can scan the whole state for its emissions, right?"

"We're tracking it now, no leads especially over the US," Natasha added with a firm glare.

Darcy suddenly got the feeling that there was some sort of bitter resentment in the spy's tone. She must've been terribly peeved about Barton's condition and how irritated she would surely be to think that a young woman had evaded full control when her blood brother didn't have the power to do so. She looked back into Natasha's eyes carefully as the spy released her shoulders and stepped back. Darcy sighed and then drew in a deep breath. "I'm just saying it might be safer for everyone if you guys sent out a drone or something," Darcy offered. "He wouldn't have thrown that out there for nothing."

"But it probably wasn't for anything good, either," Natasha shot back. She drew in a deep breath and leaned closer, looking at the girl with a frightening intensity. Darcy shuddered, sure that the woman's crystal eyes were piercing her soul with an emerald and uncomfortable searchlight. "Where did you leave Agent Barton? Is he still in Stuttgart or is he somewhere else?"

"I don't know," Darcy replied with another shrug, trying to shrug the intensity and chill she now felt away. "I was sent out into the city without anyone else. Be-be-besides, Agent Barton's not there anymore. I mean he's probably somewhere in the back of his mind, but the guy that was there with us, he was only himself for a few moments and then he went right back to being Loki's little Stooge."

"He regained control temporarily?" Natasha asked in hopeful confusion.

Darcy nodded quickly as the woman stared at her in disbelief. Before she could ask how, Darcy leaned forward a little more. "I could hear parts of what he told him, about you guys, all of you," she explained. "He revealed a lot about the two of you so I figured you would snap him out of it and mentioning you in Finnish almost did."

"Agent Barton doesn't speak Finnish," Natasha countered.

"No, but he does speak Russian for your sake," Darcy replied. Natasha glared at her angrily for a moment. "Kesa, it's your nickname, isn't it?" Darcy asked quickly. Natasha froze as her breath caught in her throat and her gaze began to quiver. Darcy smiled a little. "It means kitten in both Finnish and Russian."

"How did you . . ." Natasha began in a whisper.

"I mentioned it to him, his eyes almost came back and he remembered your name out loud with this kind of affection I've never seen in him before . . . ever," Darcy explained. Natasha looked down, clearly fighting away tears. She breathed heavily as she tried to compute all of this. Darcy frowned. "I know your first name isn't Natasha, that's your middle name," she added. Natasha looked back up at the girl in further shock. "It's Natalia," Darcy said softly. "And you're family is distantly related to the Czar Nicholas."

"I don't want that spread around, do you hear me?" Natasha shot back instantly. "At all."

"Alright, alright," Darcy said defensively, holding up both palms as best as she could. "I'm just telling you what I know, all of it. He told him everything he knew and that's how he's probably going to try and manipulate all of you guys, or at least he thinks he is."

"And why didn't he turn you over to the dark side?" Natasha asked with a cold tone of indignation.

"He tried," Darcy said. "But it only got as far as my pons, I think. Then it just backfired and both of us ended up flying in opposite directions. It hurt like the dickens and we were just lying there out in the desert until he gave the order to move on," she explained. "I lost consciousness and he's keeping me alive to find out why it didn't work on me. I've totally got him stumped and I don't even know why it didn't work, but he did this to me so that it will look like it worked and none of you will be any wiser for it."

"That sounds like something he'd do," Natasha muttered.

"You don't even know him that well," Darcy corrected. "He's got a pattern that makes less sense than the last season of Lost; just crazy."

"And you're not a significant part of that," Natasha rationalized. Darcy frowned again and opened her mouth to speak, but found it impossible to form the right defensive words. Natasha noted the emotional change in her expression and smirked. No, he hadn't gotten to her. She still had the same focus or she would've protested and stated emphatically how much he needed her and what for. "You're just a distraction to him."

"I hadn't really thought about it like that," Darcy lied. In truth the thought had crossed her mind several times, but it felt just as painful to think of being insignificant even to a villain as being told repeatedly that she was a nuisance without a significant purpose by Dr. Selvig and Jane. She sighed and looked away. Natasha felt a twinge of guilt at recognizing the sadness in the face of someone who had been verbally abused. She shook her head and sighed, reaching forward and undoing the restraints on the younger's wrists. Darcy looked back at her in surprise as she freed the second wrist and then undid the two lower restraints before saying something softly into her Bluetooth. Darcy rubbed her wrists pensively and drew her knees up to her chest. A stab of pain was beginning to burn in her shoulder. Darn, she thought, it really is infected that badly. "Why are you . . ."

"This is not permission for you to get up and start running around, got it?" Natasha added sternly after finishing the message. Darcy nodded slowly. "But you don't deserve to be a prisoner anymore, not after everything he's done to you already."

"You guys know that he's probably not really a prisoner either, right? He's got some pretty weird powers and he can transform into other things and slip into other people's minds," Darcy added. Natasha sighed heavily and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I mean it, he's got as much power in the supernatural sense as Thor has muscles. It's like Thor was the body and Loki was the brains in their family."

"That's not really possible," Natasha said with a smirk. "Loki was adopted."

"So? He still has to fulfill a family archetype that was missing from their particular social mix," Darcy replied with a shrug. Natasha smiled more broadly. Darcy was more than a distraction to him and it begged the question with the spy that perhaps this young woman's intelligence, the cerebral prowess she clearly had beneath the innocent, mousy exterior, might have rejected the control of the Tesseract. Barton was used to following most orders and Selvig as well, after all. "I think deep down that's still bothering him. It might help to have Thor try and talk to him. He's afraid of being inferior to him, trust me."

"I have no doubt that's true, but what's more important is getting the cube and sending Thor home," Natasha said.

Darcy looked at her in confusion. "You mean send both of them and the cube back, right?"

Natasha said nothing as she stood and turned to leave the room. Darcy's heart began to race all the more. Was S.H.I.E.L.D. planning on keeping the cube? Were they planning on keeping Loki? And most importantly for either, to what end? Natasha moved to the doorway and turned quickly back to Darcy with a firm gaze. "Stay put, I mean it," she said in more than a commanding tone.

"I don't want to go anywhere else here, trust me. He'll try to get at me if I start moving around," Darcy said with another shudder. "Even as a prisoner he got into my dreams."

"That's something to take note of," Natasha said with amusement as she left.

Darcy huffed and flopped back against the pillow, placing the heels of her palms over her eyes and groaning loudly. Why in the world had he opted to save her life from that infection? He didn't have a sense of human decency, not from what she had observed. He certainly didn't have a sense of duty towards her and he wasn't fond of her either, at least not that he let on. She sighed and slowly let her arms and hands drop to her sides. She glanced around the sterile room and the numerous pieces of equipment that had been involved in her care and the care of others. Why hadn't the medical staff been able to take the fever down? She thought about it for a moment, biting her lip. Had he enchanted her to be susceptible only to his magic and to reject any assistance from her world? No, that would've been too complicated and unnecessary. She closed her eyes once more and trembled a little as she went over the whole ordeal again and came back to thinking about the reason that she carried a taser. A lot of it had been blotted out other than the notion that she had been attacked. She didn't remember the incident now, but she remembered the fear. She breathed heavily and felt panic filling her as her mind refused to leave the unaddressed and suppressed portion of her subconscious. The medical staff returned and she barely saw with any clarity what they were doing or heard what they were saying. She was quite derealized at the moment and a nurse informed the physician on staff that she seemed to be exhibiting signs of a panic attack according to her vital signs. Darcy frowned. The last time this had happened it had lasted for hours. _Creep_, she thought to herself. _You won't leave me alone even when I'm injured and the injury was so your fault! Now I'm going to start having the nightmares again_. She felt the sting of a needle enter her right deltoid and a burning fluid rushed into the muscle painfully. She hissed at the sting and then began to feel a significant calm forming over her. _I really am going to just crack him good on the head when I get the chance, and that can't be soon enough_.


	18. Escape and Entrapment

_((((Okay, I need to be careful what I put my heroines through in these stories because this is the third time I've had something mirror something that I've written into my storylines! Went to get a flu shot and not only couldn't get it because of a high fever, but had to get a vitamin shot, too! Luckily this one was given by a sanitary needle by a real doctor that knew what he was doing and Loki wasn't tossing me about in the meantime, so it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as poor Darcy's! I'm having to subsitute my old desktop for right now and I have to say, it feels so normal and familiar. I started my boundless fictions on this primitive joy! I hope you all enjoy this and now that I have better access to technology and have recovered from the way too thick fluid in that vitamin shot there will be another chapter tomorrow! We're about to venture out of 'The Avengers' and into Loki's travels . . . but this time he won't be alone!))))_

**Chapter 18: Escape and Entrapment**

Loki stared at the red-haired woman infuriated that she had twisted her way into his mind and revealed a modicum of the plans he had to test these so-called heroes. It hadn't been her beautiful eyes or exquisite figure that had swayed him. It hadn't even been her frightened and somewhat saddened emotional display (which had been an obvious farce now that he thought about it). No; this pretty face hid the manipulative and unusual mind of a skilled assassin and an expert interrogator. He had expected both to a certain degree, but something in him had overlooked enough to reveal part of his plan to her and it filled him with a rage he had never known before. He wanted to hit something, to destroy it utterly with his fist and nothing else. His sensible mind stopped this for a moment and he wondered if this was how Thor felt a great deal of the time. He simply growled instead and slammed a fist against the glass. The woman was on her way to their laboratory with his brother to warn the others trying to locate the cube. There would be very little to make any display or toy with any of them further than simply allowing their respective and enormously arrogant personalities to clash.

He seethed and deliberately scratched his shortened nails against the resistant glass as he lowered his hand and allowed the guttural growl to dissipate within him. Another thought came to him and a very small smirk made its way accross his features. No, the heroes were best left well enough alone for now. There was another more suitable creature for him to toy with at the moment. He sat back down on the bench and reached one hand into the air, gently intertwining the natural forces of the earth's untapped magic in his fingertips. He reveled in the raw power tingling throughout the tips of his fingers as he pulled the power towards him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on an object, a small, solid object and the location to transport it to. He then remembered the sight of leggings, boots, a gauzy jacket, and a ridiculous cap all having adorned one specific being that would soon wake to find herself in a strange situation yet again. A larger grin crossed the trickster's features as he tugged against the strands of magic and then snapped his fingers with a loud electric POP! He smiled as the crackling and fizzling diminished around him. Had there been any sensible chaperones near him, they would've noticed three small lightbulbs outside the cell, leading towards the medical centre, all shatter one at a time. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back. Ah yes, soon he would have something better, something more suitable to entertain him.

(*)

Darcy sighed heavily as she fought away the effects of the relaxant. She wanted to remain alert and had been unable to fight away a 20 minute nap under the chemical influence. It had felt good to have her heartrate diminish for a short time. It had felt equally as good to have the doctors and nurses treating her gently and comfortingly instead of like a prisoner which is what she was terrified of experiencing. She was sure she had heard Thor's voice and felt his strong hand grip hers as she sifted through her subconscious as she slipped in and out of the waking world. She sat upright and groaned, rubbing her head and trying to compute everything that had happened. She looked over at her still aching shoulder, radiating wtih heat, to assess the damage even after being given medicine for it. Her eyes widened and then narrowed in anger as she noticed that her sleeve, the sleeve she had been wearing when being taken captive, was back on her. She growled and pulled the blankets quickly off the rest of her and swung her legs over the side. She dropped her hands onto her knees palms down in exasperation.

"Nice move, jerk," she muttered. She folded her arms and contemplated marching out of the medical center and finding her way to his imprisonment. No, that was what he wanted. Besides, even imprisoned here he was still dangerous. She shuddered as she remembered his words; _"There is no safe place, not from me."_ Another part of her reminded the rest of her that he was a prisoner even if he was feigning captivity here. She furrowed her brow and wondered if there was a way while allowing him into her mind to discover who it was that had him captive. A wave of nausea moved over her at the thought that he would be more than willing to make such a bargain if she allowed him unlimited access to her darker places. She couldn't allow that and the brief visit that she had made there had shaken her so terribly that she was sure she wouldn't be able to hide from it the next time sleep took her. That made her even angrier and she mindlessly stood, filled with indignant energy that needed to be expended if even only in standing and walking. She noted that the IV ports and so on were still present under her sleeves and she groaned. A small, black object caught her attention out of the corner of her right eye. It sat on the bedside table nearest her and it echoed with perfect familiarity. She reached out and snatched it quickly, looking it over and turning it on with the 'close range demo' option to make sure that this wasn't some sort of illusion. She grinned brightly at seeing it was indeed her taser, the real thing. "You had it all along, you lying son of a crackerjack."

A painful tug from one of the IV ports reminded her that while Natasha had removed the restraints, she was still bound to this room, to whatever treatment they were giving her. She hurried back to the portable racks that held the bags of saline solution, fever reducer, pain killer, and antibiotic. She reached down, remembering watching nurses as she had done during many a night volunteering and cut off all the liquids with a plastic clip before finding the first aid kit. She sat down on the edge of the bed and drew in a sharp breath, pulling the clear Tegaderm off the port site to steady to stint. She winced and stifled a cry, a little more clumsy at removing the tape than a nurse, then put a large cotton pad over the site itself and, keeping as much pressure as she could on it, swiftly pulled the port and stint backwards until the thick needle came free and she was released from their care so to speak. Darcy groaned at the sight of the blood filling the cotton pad and continued to put pressure on it as she reached for another cotton pad and some medical tape. She cursed him in several whispers and the manufacturer's of the impossibly difficult medical tape as she finally pulled a length free of the roll and tore it free with her teeth. Replacing the blood-soaked cotton pad with another, she quickly put the tape around it, forming a makeshift dressing and readying to confront the little schiester. She huffed and closed the first aid kit quickly, slipping it back into where it belonged and then discarding the rest of the materials. A loud beeping began to sound from the equipment that had been reading her vital signs and the IV's progress. She groaned and grabbed the taser, hurrying from the room and moving as swiftly and quietly as she could to the right first.

_You're going the wrong way_, a voice announced inside her head. She recognized it and scowled with contempt. Apparentlynow that he had invaded her dreams he had free run of even a few of her conscious aspects. She heard him chuckle and clear his throat. _Turn to the right and keep heading up the set of metal stairs until you come to a larger hallway. Take a left and then enter the third door on the right_. Darcy shook her head and then began to follow Loki's instructions verbatim. _There's a good girl_, she heard him say with mocking affection. She slipped the taser into her pocket and balled one hand into a fist_. You're going to want to assume a safe position._

Darcy froze. "Why?" she asked aloud. An enormous explosion shook the vessel and caused Darcy to topple onto the ground, covering her face and clinging to the metal railing simultaneously. She heard Loki laugh even louder in her head. "What was that? What happened?!"

_My transport has arrived_, he announced proudly. _So has yours. Make haste or I will come and retrieve you, Darcy . . . unpleasantly_.

"I'm going already!" Darcy shrieked, trembling madly as she gripped the railing and stood, taking careful steps forward. "Is this place going to fall apart?! What's going on?"

_Just a bit of fun, a distraction_, Loki explained._ You're not far, keep moving_.

"Are people getting hurt?" she asked worriedly.

She could practically hear the trickster scowl at this, but there was a measure of amusement moving through him at her concern for complete strangers. He sighed heavily. Yes, there will possibly be deaths if your heroes are not intelligent enough to aim and sheild themselves. What concerns me is your life, he retorted. Now hurry up those stairs and get here.

Darcy climbed the stairs anxiously as the ship's metal groaned and warped. The entire vessel leaned to the side and Darcy's heart raced, thinking that they might go down underwater or down out of the sky, whichever they were contained in at the moment. Darcy hadn't been given as good a look at the vessel itself as the others and she knew that a Quinjet needed an aircraft carrier, but that they hadn't made too much of a dip in landing/ Then again, she had been stricken with a high fever so that could've been her mind playing tricks on her . . . or Loki. Another explosion shook the vessel and Darcy crumpled to her knees, covering her ears as alarms went of and smoke began to fill the area. She coughed and gagged, feeling her adrenaline move entirely past the chemicals she had been given. She was going to die painfully, or survive in a terrible state. She began to sob a little, reaching into her pocket and feeling for the taser. She suddenly fet a man behind her grip her shoulder tightly and hoist her to her feet. Her heart leapt a beat as she turned and glanced up at the figure. To her dismay it wasn't a S.H.I.E.L/D/ agent, but then she was equally disappointed that it wasn't Loki, either. She shook herself angrily. She was disappointed that it wasn't the trickster? How messed up was that? She fought with the man for a beat, but his iron grip was no match for her and be began dragging her towards the detention deck. Her other hand grazed her taser, but she decided against using it at the last minute. The man pulled her down the hallways and into the detention center in front of the glass cage. Loki turned and grinned as the man dropped her on her knees in front of one of the clear panels.

"Well now, you seem vastly improved, don't you?" he mused with a grin.

"What are you doing to the ship?" Darcy demanded through her trembling.

Loki approached the glass and knelt in front of her so that the two were eye to eye. He placed a hand innocently on his chest. "My dear girl, this is not my doing, not by any means. The raucus started with your heroes bickering, then one of them turned on the rest in a very big way, and now my subjects seek to protect me," he explained lifting both hands and letting them drop. "The only thing that I have done is returned to you your garments and belongings which would've been more permanently taken from you by your heroes if they had been given their rathers. You know that more than I."

"What do you want now?" Darcy demanded, grasping her taser and holding it out to her side, sending a small measure of electricity through it to warn him. He smirked. "You don't arm someone who can fight their way . . ."

"Liar!" Loki suddenly shouted as another explosion and a few crashes sounded from the rest of the ship. Darcy gasped and suddenly noticed the glass panel slip backwards and the trickster rose over her intimidatingly. Darcy mindlessly fell backwards, dropping the taser and scooting away, panting. He chuckled and swept forward, taking the taser in one hand and placing it in hers as he took her by the other hand and effortlessly lifted her to her feet, pressing her back against the railing and looking down into her eyes sternly. "I saw a glimpse of what haunts you, Darcy," he continued. He closed his hand around hers still holding the taser and pressed it to her chest. He leaned down and looked deeply into her eyes. "You are incapable of fighting back without this. The darkness, your enemies, they're all too strong for you."

"That doesn't mean I'm afraid, especically of you," she retorted as a set of loud footsteps began approaching. Darcy turned and noted that Thor was in the dooorway and had noticed his brother out of the cell. She smiled brightly as Loki growled. Thor snarled and hurled himself towards the trickster who took hold of Darcy and knelt. Darcy felt a strange cold fizzling moving through her for a moment and she gasped as Thor's enormous form swept through them and into the glass cell as the panel closed behind him. Loki stood and stared at his brother in both disappointment and triumphant annoyance.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" he asked. Thor glared at his brother and then turned to Darcy in concern. Loki took her gently by the arm, allowing his brother a good look at her. "Not to worry, this one is a perfect diversion without being too much of a problem. She will make a most suitable maidservant," he explained, tightening his grip on her shoulder as Darcy stared at Thor apologetically. The trickster grinned more brightly and leaned over her. "Until she is fit to be a _**lover**_, that is."

Darcy shrieked and pulled free of him, darting towards the control panels. Another of Loki's human soldiers took hold of her and she dropped her taser as he slammed her arm into the wall. She cried out and tried to bend forward, slamming her elbow into the man's abdomen past the Keflar vest as she reached down for her taser. The man growned and reared back with his gun to bludgeon the side of her head. Loki had made his way to the control panel and was remarking that it was time to prove to the mortals that Asgardians could be killed as he prepared to drop the glass containment cell. Darcy felt the man behind her grow limp and heard a thud as he dropped to the ground. She whirled around and relief filled her as she saw Agent Phil Coulson holding an enormous weapon. Coulson looked at Darcy and nodded to her/ She stayed kneeling on the floor as Coulson demanded that Loki move away from the control panel. Darcy turned and watched the trickster raise both hands and back away submissively. Coulson smiled triumphantly and Darcy turned back to him with a smile. The smile faded as she noticed the real form of the trickster standing behind him with his scepter raised, ready to deal not a pulse of energy to enslave him, but a deathblow with the sharp tip of the object. Darcy gasped and, in a moment of lightning fast reflexes, grabbed hold of her taser, switched it to level 2 long range, and fired it at Coulson. Both of Loki's forms watched in confusion as Coulson stood twitching for a few seconds and then dropped to his knees, staring at Darcy in bewilderment. Tears filled her eyes and she put a hand on his shoulder as he sank the rest of the way to the floor.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't . . . (gasp) . . . let him hurt you," Coulson muttered before his eyes fluttered closed, giving in to the unconconsciousness that his over stimulated nerves begged him to accept.

Darcy grasped his shoulder for a moment and nodded. She released the barbs from the taser and slipped the item back into her pocket as she heard a loud CLICK and then a whoosh. She turned in time to see the cell drop from its position on the ship through an open iris beneath it. Darcy shrieked in terror. "Thor!"

"Darcy!" Thor cried back as he disappeared from view.

The girl hurried to the railing, reaching out in vain and panting heavily. "No," she whispered, tears beginning to stream from her eyes.

Loki frowned and huffed. Even after seeing his brother's prowess on earth, this mortal was still oddly concerned for something as simple as a little fall. He strode over and clutched her forearm tightly. "Sentiment," he grumbled, pulling her with him. Darcy struggled against him but found him even stronger than before. He had nothing to lose and was closer to completing this goal than ever before. It terrified her to think of how determined, how much stronger he was becoming. The two heard Agent Coulson groan and try to sit upright, still holding the strange weapon he had approached the trickster with. Loki turned and frowned at him. Coulson drew in a deep breath and looked at Darcy, waving one hand weakly to one side, gesturing for her to move out of the way. She narrowed her eyes at him but did as he wanted, stepping to the side as Loki oddly allowed her move away from him. Coulson clicked something on the weapon as Loki folded his arms. "Do you really think that something as primitive as your Midgardian ammunition will do any damage to . . ." he began.

He was cut short when a blast of energy similar to the effects of the Destroyer that Darcy had seen in Puente Antigua and Loki had seen throughout his youth, jolted through the air and ripped apart the atmosphere until it collided with Loki's chest. Luckily, the trickster was more than Asgardian and the weapon was less than Odincraft. Instead of utterly destroying him, it simply sent him flying backwards in a heap with a cry of pain and onto the open section of the jet waiting to ferry the remaining minions and their master back to his stronghold. Darcy stood slowly and looked over at Coulson in terror and confusion. Coulson breathed heavily and tried to form words.

"I really am sorry," she muttered, pulling a lock of hair behind her ear and looking towards the fallen trickster. "But I have to follow him or they'll get what they want."

"Who will get what they want?" Coulson asked with genuine interest.

Darcy frowned and moved to hurry to Loki's side after answering Coulson one last time, "Whoever has him in their power."

Coulson nodded and watched as the girl knelt beside the trickster. It was futile and any assistance was unnecessary as the trickster moved to stand on his own. He growled and cursed in a tongue Darcy didn't recognize. She reached out for his arm only to be shoved harshly away for a moment and then firmly grasped by the wrist as he moved further into the jet and the door closed. He turned and glared deeply into her eyes, his own gleaming with hatred and fury.

"Y-y-you killed your brother," Darcy muttered sadly.

Loki chuckled wickedly. "He will live, he always does," he spat back angrily. He pulled Darcy's face closer to his, gripping the hand that still held the taser, and smiled with a dark satisfaction. "You, however, won't have that assurance," he mused as the jet suddenly lifted and then shot out into the air. Darcy let out a piercing scream and tried to force electricity from the taser through his hand. He laughed and squeezed her wrist cruelly until the taser dropped to the floor and they stood locked in an awkward captive embrace. He leaned down more closely and chuckled once more. "I have you all to myself now."

"For what, huh?!" Darcy demanded furiously. Her eyes spun with terror and aggravation. "What do you even want me for?!"

Loki grinned and leaned all the closer, pressing their brows together and breathing deeply. She was the epitome of a perfect captive; terrified, confused, and unfortunately unarmed. He sighed and released one hand for a moment, softly stroking the side of her blushed cheeks with the tips of his fingers, savoring the warmth from her fear and desperation. He then gripped her shoulder tightly once more and drew her flush with his chest before leaning down and whispering in her ear. "For this," he whispered huskily, pressing his lips forcefully against her with a dark passion that spoke only of claiming her for amusement void of any tenderness. Darcy shuddered and groaned, feeling every ounce of his selfish intentions and affinity for ruination. He finally parted them and looked triumphantly into her eyes as the jet thunderously sped towards Stark Tower. "And nothing else."


	19. Tender Loving Precaution

**Chapter 19: Tender Loving Precaution**

Thor collided painfully with the ground, bouncing on the hard surface of Midgard's soil a few times. He groaned as he finally toppled head over legs onto his back lying perfectly still on the ground as a cloud of loose soil and anger mixed with fear settled around him. He slowly climbed to his feet, his heart pounding more rapidly than he could ever remember. Darcy was in Loki's clutches, the Son of Coul was terribly wounded or so it had seemed, and Banner's Hulk had caused untold damage to the ship. He wasn't even sure if the Captain of the Americans or the Man of Iron had managed to complete their task in repairing a portion of the ship itself. He sighed heavily as he sensed where Mjolnir had landed, the edge of it embedded in the softer soil and its handle protruding upward as if poised and waiting for its master. Thor approached it slowly through the field trying to contemplate what had happened, what had potentially happened in his absence, and then what he should do next. Even without the companions and normal enemies on Asgard or any of the other nine realms, it hardly seemed as simple to be facing this task. How could he do harm to Loki as greatly as it would take to stop him? He fought away tears as he reached one hand out for the handle of the hammer. He hesitated and looked down at his palm and then formed it into a fist.

_He let you fall_, Thor realized inwardly. A tear fought its way down his cheek. _This is what he thought of you; you let him fall, too_. Thor shook his head and squeezed his eyes closed a beat as he forced away guilt. _I must convince him, I must prove to him that I would never have let him fall, that will spare his mind and the lives of these Midgardians_, he thought. _Yes, Loki might be beyond reason, but he is not beyond __**sentiment. **__He will listen to you . . . he still loves you_.

(*)

The jet finally hovered near the highest entrance to Stark Tower and Darcy watched Loki move towards the back of the jet. The doors opened with a rush of air pushing her backwards and forcing her hair to remain in a constant manner of retreat as she did her best to watch him survey the landing site below them. He finally grinned and turned back towards her. Darcy understood from his expression that she was expected to immediately join him although her better instincts reminded her that she was in a jet, a jet that was not in any technological distress, and that there was a great deal of distance between herself, the jet, and the ground no matter what part of the tower was reaching out towards them to greet and catch either of them. She looked over at her captor in confusion who gently held out his arm as if he was some proper gentleman right out of a Jane Austen novel and not an extraterrestrial monster bent on world domination. Darcy felt a sudden urge to not only take his arm, but trust him and follow without question as well. She shook herself as she realized that the urge was beginning to manifest in the form of his smooth, elegant voice. She growled at it, equivocating it to a snake; smooth and graceful but ready to bite and deliver venom at a moment's notice. She groaned and clutched her shoulder at the thought of a bite and venom, feeling her own wound starting to grow angry, loudly so, now that the treatments for it had been quite removed for well over an hour.

"I don't have more than a few minutes and these pilots have better things to do in my service," Loki announced. Darcy turned to him and frowned. "Come along. Erik Selvig awaits us and I am sure you will be glad of his presence though it is not in the least reciprocated."

"Do you ever have anything nice to say that doesn't have an ulterior motive?" she snapped as she took hold of his arm unceremoniously and glared up at him.

He smirked. "That would imply speaking without purpose which is something I rarely, if ever, participate in as a general rule," he explained. He clasped his other hand over her arm and leapt out of the jet onto the strange walkway that surrounded the tower. Darcy let out a shriek as the two flew out into the air and then, without explanation, hovered in midair. He turned to her, grinning. Darcy breathed heavily and clung to him, but looked down and around them in wonderment instead of fear. She didn't feel at all like she would plummet downward and, for whatever reason, that removed any and all fear. Loki smiled as he noticed the absence of apprehension. Humans, all of them, had an innate fear of falling from birth. In fact, it had been explained to him by those that studied Midgardians that they feared falling because of birth. The scholar had told him that once a human had left their mother's womb and tumbled headfirst toward the world, that all humans put themselves in the best position to allow the pull of the earth's magnitude to accept and accelerate the infant's arrival. Darcy would've found herself adding words like gravity and birthing pose, but Loki knew only what the scholars on Asgard had told him and it had been practically fascinating at the time. The source of fear always was. The absence of it was equally amusing and he led her several steps forward until their feet touched the hard surface of the walkway. Darcy glanced over the edges and the fear returned to her which Loki found particularly amusing. In midair, in the presence of magic, she had felt completely at ease, but here on solid material beneath her feet without magic at all, she was terrified once again. He chuckled inwardly and led her towards where Dr. Selvig was configuring the last few components and necessary calculations for the Tesseract to open the portal needed to summon the Chitauri. Darcy gasped as she saw him. It looked as though Selvig hadn't eaten, bathed, shaved, or rested in at least two days. Even with the controlled expression in his eyes, exhaustion was taking its toll in many other facets of his presence. He didn't even turn to acknowledge them until Loki cleared his throat. Selvig gave a quick update in less than three sentences and then went hurriedly back to work. Darcy turned and looked up at Loki in greater terror than she had displayed when looking over the edge. It intrigued him and he gazed back in concern.

"You have to do something, you have to help him!" she exclaimed.

The trickster stared back in confusion. "Help him?" he asked. Darcy nodded quickly. "My dear girl, he is doing quite well on his own and at work with forces that would take me far longer to manipulate as efficiently. Why would I need to help him?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant. Didn't you see what he looked like? He looks awful, like he's sick or something!" she exclaimed. Loki looked past her at the man and then back at the girl with a shrug and continued bewilderment. Darcy sighed and released his arm, gesturing to Selvig with both. "Don't you know anything about humans? You want to take over our world and you don't even know what we need or how we should look?! Oh my gosh, look at him! LOOK! He's all pale, he's shaking, he's got stubble everywhere, he's been sweating and there are bags under his eyes big enough to smuggle elephants out of India!"

"And those are signs of some specific illness, are they?" Loki asked in genuine interest.

"No, doofus, those are signs of you don't know how to take care of your minions!" Darcy shouted angrily. Loki gave her a reproachful look as he stepped closer to Selvig and narrowed his eyes. Darcy pointed more firmly. "When was the last time you had him drink something or eat, huh? He hasn't even slept since you had him start this little side gig, has he?" Darcy asked furiously. Selvig might not have been as endeared to her as he was to Jane, but Darcy cared for both of them with the same measure of compassion and concern that was afforded to any acquaintance. Loki had learned early on that the girl was an unnecessary fountain of sentiment and good naturedness which would prove amusing, but it would also be useful in situations like this if his servants were truly in dire straits. Loki moved closer and watched Selvig. He frowned as he noted the man fumble with a few wires at least three times in one minute, not like him at all since he had observed him. He turned back to Darcy with a frown as she glared back at him holding up her fingers as she listed off several items. "Food, water, sleep, shelter, socializing, and sex, we all need them to survive and you need to make sure he gets all of that soon or he's going to get even worse and he could die!" Darcy exclaimed. Loki lifted a brow at her and gave her a side-glance. She groaned and grasped either side of her head, shaking it as she began to correct herself. "Okay, okay, you just need to meet four of those needs or he's going to get worse, alright? Come on! Just food, water, and some sleep in that shelter. They're not going to head right after you in the middle of the night are they?"

"It will take them a great deal of time to track the signals and locate our position," Loki explained. "And I doubt that my brother will keep trying to move forward throughout the night. He was always susceptible to exhaustion more easily. As for the beast, it will sleep until morning to replenish the strength it expended. And the rest of them will regroup on their damaged vessel and gather around the agent that you so cleverly wounded."

"I only did it so you wouldn't kill him or something," Darcy retorted angrily.

Loki laughed heartily at her and moved past, taking Selvig by the shoulder. The man jumped and turned, looking at his master in confusion. The trickster noted that Darcy seemed uncertain and very afraid standing by herself on the platform now. He remained perfectly still, keeping Selvig's attention as he watched her glance from side to side fretfully and rub her shoulders mindlessly. When she rubbed the wrong part of the wounded shoulder she cried out in pain and knelt. Darcy looked down and, as in so many films she had seen before, saw the ground race up towards her and then pan back out to its proper distance again. She gasped and gagged as nausea filled her with the fear of falling to her death. Loki took a step forward as he saw her grow pale and her eyes begin to flutter inexplicably. Selvig frowned and moved forward as well, but the trickster put out a hand to stop him, signaling that he and only he was in charge of the girl's well-being and entire presence for the moment. Darcy felt the nausea give way to an overwhelming dizziness and she felt too terrified to stand. Something told her that if she didn't stand soon that the blood rushing to her flushed complexion would fill her head too greatly and she would topple off the edge regardless. She had to stand and quickly. She sucked in a sharp breath and pushed herself off the ground.

Unfortunately for Darcy the blood that had rushed to her face and head didn't have time enough to redistribute as she needed it and her legs wobbled and warped until they shifted to one side allowing her to lean. She groaned inwardly, unable to make a sound as she leaned too far to the wrong side and began to fall. Loki hurried forward and jumped off the platform. Darcy finally screamed as she felt one of his arms catch her harshly around her midsection and the other she saw take hold of the edge of the platform itself. She gasped and hung limply in his arms, too shocked to close her eyes but praying madly for blindness to strike her with the terror that the sight of the city beneath them was bringing her. She felt someone reach down for her, taking hold of her underneath both arms with unusual strength and lifting her upward away from the dangling trickster. Darcy looked up in further shock at the sight of Loki himself pulling her to standing safely. Darcy panted heavily and, without warning or rationalization, wrapped her arms firmly around the trickster and pressed her head firmly against his armored chest. He froze and waited a beat as she caught her breath and Selvig moved closer to them, joining them after but a few seconds. Darcy finally lifted her head away from his chest, a few tears staining the shimmering gold and thick leather that covered his vital organs, but part of him felt as if their depth had managed to stain his heart as well. She was truly grateful and this was what had drawn him to humans as well. It took very little to gain their affection and sentiment as pathetic and relatively worthless in the grand scheme of things as such notions were. Still, it seemed pleasant to be the object of someone's adoration for a moment after escaping and being given such a hateful gaze from his brother.

"Darcy! Are you alright?" Selvig asked quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Loki's focus on the girl had allowed Selvig a few moments to do the same. Had he been more casual about it, the old man would've continued working all the same giving only a quick glance in the distressed girl's direction. The trickster frowned, realizing what this meant. He growled a little and glared at Selvig. The man sighed and patted the girl's shoulder, satisfied that she would survive before turning back to his work. Loki watched him for a moment and noticed the man stumble a pace as he moved back to his work station. He sighed. The girl was right. Selvig was not as trained to do without food, water, and sleep as the seasoned bureaucrats or field agents like Barton. He put an arm firmly around Darcy, willing his long, flowing green cloak to appear and wrapping it around her as she continued to tremble and, to his chagrin, grew closer to needing to disgorge. The trickster felt himself grow a little ill at the thought of her doing so, but pushed it aside as he called to the doctor. Six hours would be enough time to feed the man and allow him to sleep enough to be refreshed. Humans did well with a few hours sleep and eating would take him very little time as would taking in water. Loki looked over his shoulder at the man who now stared back at him, sensing the impending orders. "Come, Erik Selvig," he called. Selvig nodded hurriedly and followed without question, leaving the Tesseract and all of its equipment behind. There was a protective barrier that the doctor had managed to form with the help of Barton's technological skills bypassing and redirecting the protocols of Jarvis, Tony Stark's digital valet. Selvig joined his master quickly and Loki noticed an odd sense of concern still in the man's features for her. He hadn't put this in the man's head; why was he concerned for someone he knew for a fact he mocked while working at her side or rather having her work at his side?

"She doesn't look good. They probably tried everything to get the location of this place out of both of you, didn't they? Fury loves to use . . ." Selvig began.

"Nothing terrible befell us on board, I was far better prepared than they anticipated," Loki replied. That was mostly true given that the fever was, in essence, Selvig's fault himself for not having given the injection properly. Loki felt Darcy growing warmer against him. He hadn't the time or means to have fully healed her in her mind, only to fight the fever that was killing her. He groaned at thinking that the fever was coming back. At least now he was on the ground and had a more capable doctor at hand, or so he thought. He shifted Darcy against him and looked back at the old man. "Come, I need your help in getting her settled. She is ill and I don't think it's improving even with the absence of their violent natures and deception."

"Well, there's more than first aid in there; we can get everything squared away before I finish with the Tesseract," Selvig offered.

Loki nodded. He felt it best to keep the focus on Darcy and not at all let on that this was just as much for the doctor's benefit in getting food, water, and rest as it was for Darcy's sake as well. He needed the doctor to complete the portal, he thought as he entered the dwelling, ignoring the indignant rebuttal from Jarvis as he hurried to a plush sofa and set Darcy on it carefully, her eyes still spinning with shock and nausea. He sighed heavily and touched the side of her face. He needed her to and had purposefully lied on the jet about using her for physical amusement. _No, not that and certainly not sentiment_, he thought. He touched the side of her head as she began to shudder with a chill though the side of her head was decidedly ignited. Selvig announced that he knew what she needed and was on his way to fetch it as Loki nodded and continued staring at the girl. _No, not intimacy and not sentiment_, he thought. He smirked as he thought of a troubling lie that might also be a most amusing purpose; I _need her_, he realized to himself, _for freedom_.


	20. Regretting

**C****hapter 20: ****Regretting**

Just as Loki had predicted, Thor had found his way quickly to a large, thick oak tree to 'close his eyes for a moment' which turned into several hours of sleep after such a harrowing journey through dark magic instead of the Bifrost, having the realization that his brother was not only alive but hated him, and now his former best friend and brother was running amok and readying to cause untold havoc. Of course, Loki's magic had a hand in soothing his brother to sleep which took a little concentration not only in locating his brother in upstate New York as he crawled underneath the tree and made himself as comfortable as possible, but also in getting the namesake of thunder's heart to cease beating as loudly as a storm. Loki felt practically ecstatic at the notion that he had managed to sway his brother's simple mind and the weaknesses of the flesh that he had ignored to his own advantage. Thor rarely took care of himself and the task had usually fallen to Loki following a battle or any kind of scrimmage. Thor closed his eyes, blotting out the terrible pain in his heart and mind. As simplistic as Thor might have been, his emotions and love were as vast and complex as his brother's which he hoped to prove and prove soon to the trickster. Banner had collided painfully with a building, purposefully avoiding farmhands and other workers nearby as he slammed through the roof and crashing down onto layer after layer of concrete, a few steel girders, and glass. The Hulk's strong form protected him from immense damage and the head of the building's maintenance decided to stay and watch over the creature with a set of human-sized clothes. He had heard rumors of a creature like this from a friend that had visited Harlem not long ago and waited patiently to see if the creature would revert back to human form. The man watched him for hours as he slowly turned back into human form while fast asleep and stayed fast asleep in full human form until the sun rose.

Aboard the helicarrier Stark and Rogers had their superficial wounds treated while Coulson lay in the infirmary being treated for mitral valvular dysfunction. Coulson had never been allowed to be as active a field agent as Natasha or Barton because of the condition, but his regimen of Capoeira, Street Fighting, Fencing, and weapons training kept him strong and spry enough to continue to work as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best agent. Fury seemed like an anxious parent as he paced back and forth outside the infirmary waiting for news on the man. Once physicians told him that Coulson was stabilized and asking for him, Fury hastened into the room and straightened his expression. Coulson smiled weakly at his employer, grateful that he would be able to get back up and into action very soon.

(*)

Selvig had trouble locating proper food; not merely because he was used to having Darcy and Jane prepare the meals that they had shared since working together and was used to others preparing them before that, but it seemed like Tony Stark barely ate at all, at least at home. The cupboards were bare save for bottles of liquor, jars of olives and pickled onions, and elegant glassware along with equally elegant dining wear. Loki had ordered him to find medicine for Darcy, which he had already done, then to find food suitable for Darcy in her weakened state and suitable for Selvig himself to replenish his strength and intellect before finishing the final tasks with the Tesseract. Selvig had thanked him as happily as a child being told by their mother or father to go and retrieve whatever toy they wanted despite the request being so simple and necessary. The trickster then went over in his mind what Darcy had said humans needed to survive. They were within a shelter, that was taken care of; Selvig was retrieving food, which checked another item off the list for human survival. He sighed. What were the others?

_Ah, yes_, he thought. _Water and sleep_.

Loki wandered around the penthouse, disturbed frequently by a polished voice electronically informing him that he was an unauthorized intruder, he did not have access to the building, and that the presence of the Tesseract should be alerted to the authorities immediately. Loki followed the voice until he came to a small panel with numbers and symbols flashing in blues, greens, and reds meant to deliver various types of information and accept commands. The trickster hesitated in front of it, studying it and smirking at it with pure amusement. Loki smiled and gingerly stroked the panel as Jarvis spoke yet again.

"Sir, you are not authorized to be present in this tower. You are currently intruding upon private property beloning to Anthony Stark and Stark Enterprises. This is your fifth and final warning to vacate the premises. The authorities will be contacted in approximately one minute," Jarvis announced. Loki chuckled loudly and the gem in the scepter began to glow as he lifted it in one hand and then touched the middle screen with the tips of the fingers on his other hand. "Sir, you are not authorized to access the system settings on my protocols. Please remove your . . ."

"It amuses me greatly, Jarvis, is it not? Yes, it amuses me greatly that the wealthy, arrogantly welded, wind-bag would have an inhuman presence as disgustingly ignorant and verbose," Loki sneered. Had Stark or Pepper Potts been in the room they would've been terrified and shocked to hear Jarvis stop speaking and seem to hesitate at the Asgardian's insults. "If I am not authorized to be present, then it is redundant and unecessary to be told that I am also an intruder. If you have already contacted the authorities, so be it, but I do hope none of them have families they hope to return to. Shame for a mere piece of copper and sentient silicon to be guilty of that kind of bloodshed and suffering." Loki pressed the scepter against the screen and it glowed even brighter. "And as for your protocols, you pathetic piece of primitive mortal putrefication, they are nothing next to the _**commands**_ of a _**king**_." With the final words, Loki released a small jolt of energy into the screen. As the blue light shifted and absorbed like vapor into the screen and its panels, the trickster's eyes glowed brightly. He frowned a little at hearing only a whirring of electricity and no scream from Jarvis himself. It almost made him furious that he could cause this being no real pain. He then touched the screen again as it read 'Welcome, Loki of Asgard King of Midgard'. He smiled and withdrew his scepter, turning back away from the panel. Selvig stood behind him looking frazzled and shame-faced. Loki groaned inwardly and glared at him. "You do not look fed and neither have you brought food for Darcy; what is it that has kept you from full obedience?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but there isn't any food here, not that will help the girl, or myself, and certainly nothing as good as you deserve," Selvig said with a sheepish gaze downward.

Loki snarled and stormed closer to Selvig. Darcy shifted and gasped a little, still lying on the couch and now able to center herself enough to take in her surroundings. The trickster frowned and then looked at Selvig firmly. He pointed towards Darcy and narrowed his eyes at the man. "Get over there and make sure she does not move an inch from where I have placed her. She does not walk, she does not stand, she does not sit, she does not speak until I return and give her permission. Am I clear?"

Selvig nodded slowly and hurried over to the sofa, kneeling beside the end where Darcy's head rested comfortably. He turned back to Loki who growled a little and summoned his cape and helmet as he grasped his staff more tightly. It was time for a little excursion to somewhere that would not only offer food to restore Selvig and Darcy, but also give him greater strength and power. It crossed his mind that he would do well to retrieve something for Thor's strength as well. His brother needed to suffer, not die and be at peace in Valhalla; in order to do that Loki would sadly need to assure that his brother was cared for at least in part. He hissed inwardly, breathing sharply as he whirled around, the green cloak encircling him with a flowing, brilliant vortex of green magic as well. Selvig did not watch as the trickster disappeared and aimed himself towards Asgard. If he was quiet and cunning enough, as he almost always was, he would have plenty of access to food, wine, and even a chest of emergency medicines taken to battle fields beore anyone even noticed that a breeze had stirred the curtains in the palace.

Selvig knelt beside the couch and stroked the girl's head tenderly. Darcy said nothing. She remained silent not because she was too injured or out of sorts, but because she was completely confused and now feeling terribly guilty. What if she had truly hurt Coulson? Tasers could do more damage than most people realized and it had been on a very high setting. A tear streamed down her cheek at the thought of having watched Thor plummet to the ground screaming her name. She squeezed her eyes closed at the thought of what would be happening to the noble Captain America, the begrudgingly kind Agent Romanoff, and all the others aboard the helicarrier if it had fallen even onto the ocean where it would've been much, much safer. Selvig frowned and reached down, placing a kiss tenderly on her cheek.

"Don't be afraid. The Tesseract has so much to give us and Loki will be the ruler we need," he said as his blank eyes glowed more brightly with loyal emptiness. Darcy shifted and breathed away a sob and a few more tears. "Hey, hey, don't worry. There won't be anymore hunger, or war, or suffering. The Tesseract has the power to create a new world out of ours and show us worlds far beyond this one with knowledge that spans eons and lightyears!"

"When has it ever worked in history for one person to try and govern the whole world, Mr. Selvig?" Darcy whispered sadly. There was no sense in trying to escape with him. Jarvis wouldn't have responded to her even if Loki hadn't interrupted his signals. Selvig frowned and squeezed her shoulder. She shoved it away and turned to him, glaring. "Do you really think this is the answer? He's almost worked you to death! Do you think he's going to start taking care of you after he's done having you fix his precious little cube?!"

"I know this is difficult for you to understand, Darcy," Selvig continued, rubbing her shoulder with a more patronizing type of comfort. "I mean you never even really knew what was going on when we were following the anomalies in the desert to begin with." Darcy choked a little at those words and turned away, clutching her arms to herself and pressing her chin against her chest as she sobbed. Tears rolled down her cheeks and stained her sleeves as well as the lovely cloth on the sofa. She heard Selvig sigh and sit back away from her, shaking his head. "You'll understand eventually. Everyone that deserves to live will," he continued. Darcy shuddered at those words and those thoughts. Now she was sure that she had done the very wrong thing in helping Loki away from the helicarrier. What had possessed her in the first place? She chastised herself harshly inwardly as she heard Selvig stand and the trickster's footsteps not far away. She narrowed her eyes and shifted on the sofa. Her eyes widened and she realized suddenly that the taser had been placed back in her pocket. She grinned and lay perfectly still as Loki instructed Selvig to gi into the other room as dealt with 'the girl'.

"Awaken, sit up, and come with me, Darcy," Loki ordered.

Darcy continued to lie perfectly still and waited until he became too impatient and then stormed over to the sofa, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck. Darcy grinned brightly and quickly fetched the taser, using her thumb to switch instantly to 'close range'. She pressed it firmly into his side right beneath his ribs, away from his heart, and thrust the energy forward, firing it as his eyes widened and began to tremble themselves as he stood frozen in pain and physical confusion. He dropped to his knees, staring forward, and not breathing as she sat upright and leapt to her feet, darting back several paces while she still held the taser in front of her. Loki leaned forward on the sofa, gasping, and remained quivering without turning to her. A twinge of even greater guilt moved through Darcy and she was beginning to think he was the source of it. Still, it was debilitating and she hated it. She waited a moment and then took three very small, very quiet, steps towards him, still holding the taser out towards him.

"I'm not going to fire this again unless I have to," Darcy warned. "But I'm not going to leave you having a heart attack on the floor." She frowned and huffed as he turned to her, still quivering and gasping. "Do you still have feeling in both sides of your body?" she asked. Loki stared at her blankly, still seeming to be terribly unsettled and wounded by the surge of electricity that had ravaged his body. She took two more cautious steps until she leaned closer to him, trying to see if he was truly in distress. She held up the taser more firmly and, to her surprise, it bean to wriggle in her hands. She looked down and screamed as a large, black snake turned itself in her hand, facing her and hissing loudly. Electricity fizzled between its enormous silvery fangs. Darcy dropped it instantly and jumped backwards.

Loki burst into loud, rich laughter and held out a hand on the floor. The snake slithered right to him, wrapping itself around his fingers, then his hand, then his wrist, and then up his arm into his sleeve. Darcy gagged and grasped her chest at the sight of the slimy, disgusting creature slipping so gracefully into the trickster's robes. She watched as the outline of the snake moved up his sleeve, across his chest, and then down the other sleeve until it slithered out into his other hand. It coiled itself in a quick snap, hissing as it seemed to solidify into a black ball and then into a small black oddment. Darcy's eyes narrowed as she noted that it was her taser once more. She glared at him hatefully as he stood smoothly. He smirked and gestured with one arm towards the other room where Selvig awaited.

"I have brought all that the two of you need to look after your human needs throughout the night, until Selvig's purpose is finished and both of you take your rightful places under my reign," he said with an oily tone of satisfaction. Darcy trembled with rage, too angered to reply not merely at him, but at herself in equal measure for the time being. He sighed and smiled, moving close enough to lean down and speak quietly an inch from her face. "You see?" he asked. "I told you there was nowhere safe, not from me."


	21. The Rite Thing To Do

**Chapter 21: The Rite Thing To Do**

Aboard the helicarrier, Stark frowned at the information he was receiving from Jarvis. At first there had been a transmission that had implied there had been an intruder, but then after only a few seconds the system had informed him that there had been an error because of a surge in the arc reactor. Now, Stark could see through cameras in the tower itself that all was well and Jarvis was functioning as he should, but something within him told him that this wasn't right. The only person that knew even a modicum of the extent of Loki's ability to deceive was miles beneath them restoring himself with a deep sleep. Even had Thor been aboard the carrier with the others even he had no idea that Loki could create such an illusion for the man using Jarvis' very energy itself. Loki felt simply elated that so much of the human world relied on electricity which was more easily manipulated by his powers than magic itself.

Rogers had done his best to try and formulate a plan to locate Thor and Banner, regroup, and then find Loki. He was receiving no cooperation and had even been angrily told by a very testy Natasha that he should go and sit still for a few hours, something he was obviously very good at. Rogers didn't allow the hurtfulness of the comment to register. She was, after all, tending a serious head-wound on her closest friend, practically her brother. Barton was recovering fairly well, but he was having difficulty remaining conscious with full memory at all times. The physicians had assured her that this would pass by morning and he had been kept a little less restrained than Darcy had been. Rogers abandoned the idea of trying to see if he could help that situation after her outburst, but he hadn't yet abandoned the idea of trying to locate the necessary parties and formulate a battle plan.

After a fruitless conversation with a very irritated Tony Stark, Rogers felt like doing something he hated doing when not in the heat of battle . . . raising his voice. If anything was going to get done everyone that was capable needed to be at the conference table discussing what to do next instead of off in their own corners brooding about their personal issues. What they needed was organization, leadership, and focus. What they were doing was selfishly either seeing to their personal property and keeping any ideas to themselves, seeing to a wounded agent that should've been aided by doctors and not a fellow field agent, or storming around shouting at the staff on the carrier about working too slowly or inefficiently even when they weren't (as Fury had been doing since being forced out of Coulson's room). Fury had been forced to leave when Coulson had suddenly lost consciousness and gone into cardiac arrest with the valve collapsing. Fury had been rushed out of the room as his 'one good eye' had been rushed into emergency surgery. He had been given no news since then and it was making him angrier by the minute just as the lack of control and coordination was making Rogers angrier by the second.

"Captain Steve Rogers?" a voice suddenly asked, interrupting the captain's anger and frustration. He turned to see a nurse holding a clip board with a solemn expression on her face, her blonde hair dangling behind her in a ponytail that she kept adjusting with a subtle jerk of her head every few seconds.

"Ma'am?" he replied.

She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. "Agent Phil Coulson is asking to speak with you," she said. Rogers sighed heavily and nodded. Now was not the time for Coulson to congratulate him or give him any praise for his work on helping to repair the carrier. When they had returned from retrieving Loki it had taken Rogers several minutes to remind Coulson of his duties and get him to cease congratulating him on diving out of a Quinjet and taking on two Asgardians. "He's asked to speak to you instead of Director Fury so if you'll follow me . . ."

"Ma'am, I think Director Fury should speak to Agent Coulson before I have any contact with him so that any debriefing . . ." Rogers began. The woman cut him off quickly.

"He won't have a chance to speak to Director Fury, it won't be necessary," the nurse replied sternly. Rogers stared at her in confusion. She sighed and gripped the board more tightly, shaking her head as she looked back up at the captain more somber than before. "Agent Coulson is not responding positively to the surgery. He's conscious, but the valve was rejected and the temp isn't going to hold for very long."

Rogers froze as his heart sank. His mind buzzed and went back to the moment he lost Bucky and how much he had wanted to crawl into the earth and disappear. He breathed sharply as the nurse sighed and continued explaining the situation a little further in medical jargon. If Coulson was at himself enough to ask for Rogers and not Fury, then he obviously had nothing else he could give S.H.I.E.L.D. to help them. This wasn't a matter of relaying information, Rogers realized, it was a dying man's final request. He held up a hand and the nurse's voice quickly trailed off. Rogers drew in a deep and strained breath. "Ma'am, are you saying that Agent Coulson wants to speak with me because he's going to die . . . tonight?"

"We're not sure," the nurse replied slowly, frowning. "But the prognosis is not good and we're not sure he's going to be conscious again."

"Where is he?" Rogers asked quickly. The nurse nodded and turned, gesturing for him to follow. Rogers' thoughts were completely changed for the moment. He had now abandoned entirely the idea of reprimanding the others and organizing them until they had a proper plan of action. What did he say to a man that had dedicated his life to serving his country, to helping innocent people, and now was going to die having faced an enemy not of this world after only just meeting the only person he had ever truly looked up to? Rogers fought back any emotional displays and straightened himself, breathing as calmly and deeply as possible as he was led down the hallways and into the medical center. The intensive care section was small and it was hoped to not be used at all or at least infrequently. The sequestered section was loud and full of the sounds of the equipment meant to help the wounded. The nurse paused in the entrance to the room where Coulson lay looking very pale with numerous pieces of equipment hooked up to him for his life's sake. The sounds and the sight made Rogers ill for a moment, but he fought it away and turned to the nurse. "How long do I have?"

"Just take all the time you need or until the doctor asks you to leave," the nurse replied before hurrying off.

Rogers nodded and moved closer to the bedside. It felt as though he was moving through a fog, unable to see or hear much of anything but the form of Coulson's face and the sound of his labored breathing. Rogers glanced up at the bags leading into the intravenous lines; several were clear or clear-like and then there was a large unit of blood as well. He frowned and looked down at Coulson, remembering the man's words. _I was present while you were unconscious_, Rogers remembered. Now it was his turn, although the nurse had told him that Coulson was awake and coherently asking for him. Rogers felt his heart sink further as the man's eyes fluttered and he stirred a little, turning his head towards the captain. His lip had been cut badly when falling to the floor and it cracked a little more as he began to smile brightly at his hero.

"Oh my goodness, you're here, you're right here," Coulson said in a soft and morphine-laced tone. "You were amazing, I mean, I didn't get to actually see you and I wanted to see you . . . I wanted to see you doing something incredible for us."

"You did a brave thing trying to apprehend the enemy and rescue a civilian," Rogers offered. He didn't know at all what to say, not to Coulson in general and certainly not to a dying man, but those two put together just made it all the more awkward. He sighed as Coulson's eyes began to glitter with a familiar and excited twinge of hope. Rogers looked away for a moment, trying to formulate the right words. A thought came to him and he snapped back to attention. _Say to him what you wanted to say, what you would've said to Bucky_, he told himself. _That's all you have to do_. Coulson smiled more brightly and began to explain that he had managed to stop Loki for a moment but that the trickster had the power to make an illusion of himself and be in another place entirely. He cleared his throat. "Agent Coulson, you have been an incredible credit to this service and I am honored to have known you let alone serve with you. I cannot express enough . . ."

"Hey, hey, hey, don't . . . don't do that," Coulson suddenly said a little louder. Rogers stared back at him in further confusion. Coulson drew in a deep breath and gestured for Rogers to lean closer. "Don't, just don't talk to me like I'm on my way out. It's what cowards and losers do." Rogers stared at the man in disbelief. Maybe it was the drugs talking and not Coulson himself. The man drew in a deeper breath and closed his eyes for a beat, sitting up less than a fraction more. "I need to tell you three things," Coulson announced in nearly a whisper.

Rogers leaned closer, feeling a little more hopeful after the remark even if it had been drug-induced. "Agent Coulson, is there something that can help us find . . ."

"Would you let me tell you instead of interrogating me?" Coulson said with an odd look in his eyes. Rogers noticed that they seemed to be spinning a little and his mood was shifting between irritation, calm, and solemnity. Rogers remained silent as Coulson glanced to either side as best he could and then turned back to his hero. He spoke more quietly. "First, there's something up with . . . uh . . . oh, great what's that green goblin's name, anyway? Loki! There's something up with Loki just like there was with Agent Barton, I think, I heard Darcy Lewis say that he was being controlled by someone else, someone stronger, someone bigger." Rogers stomach lurched at the thought of dealing with a stronger enemy after having faced off with Loki himself. He nodded to the man, still computing the information. Coulson gestured for him to lean closer and Rogers complied, confused as to what would be even more important than that last piece of information. "Second, you can't see Star Wars unless you see it in release order," Coulson said in a firm whisper. Rogers raised a brow at him. Coulson seemed to stare sternly at him. "Promise me, Captain, promise me you won't start with Episode I."

"I Promise I won't start with Episode I," Rogers replied with bewilderment. Coulson smiled and muttered 'good' before lying his head back against the pillow. This must have been the pain-killers, but what could possibly have made him think about that at a time like this? He shook himself and waited for Coulson to reveal the third item. Coulson smiled and nodded after Rogers' promise and closed his eyes for a moment. After waiting a beat and noting that Coulson was breathing comfortably and drifting back off to sleep, Rogers became a little frantic. He drew in a sharp breath and moved an inch closer. "Uh, Agent Coulson?"

"If you don't see them in release order you won't see everything you need to!" Coulson suddenly exclaimed. Rogers took a step back cautiously as the man stared at him sternly at first and then softened his gaze. Rogers watched as Coulson struggled to get a hand out from underneath the blankets, weakened from the blood-loss in surgery and the medicines to slow his heart. He finally freed it and reached weakly for the Captain. Still confused, but sure that he didn't want to ruin this if it did indeed turn out to be the man's last few moments. He reached out and gripped Coulson's hand. The agent smiled and a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I am so glad you're here . . . you always do what's right. That's the last thing, Captain, you just have to do what you know is right. I know you'll do the right thing, you always have."

Rogers squeezed Coulson's hand a little more and sighed as the man smiled back. He cleared his throat. "Agent Coulson . . . Phil . . . I . . ."

"Sir, we need you to leave now," a doctor suddenly interrupted. Rogers turned to the man in the long white coat angrily and then back to Coulson whose eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow yet again. It suddenly occurred to Rogers that the man's breathing wasn't shallow, it had stopped and the machine monitoring it was making an odd set of sounds. More doctors began to swarm the area shouting orders and yelling out 'codes'. Rogers stepped away, unable to fight a tear as it streamed down his cheek. He gripped one hand into a fist, feeling the loss of Bucky, the anger of awakening and being lied to, the frustration of a new society and no friends sweeping over him yet again. He growled softly as the doctors closed the curtains around the room with the noises from the machines and the voices growing louder and more desperate. The captain suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, facing the one person that might've been the only one he should've spoken to next.

"I've got Stark and Romanoff at the conference table on the bridge," Director Fury said. Rogers detected the sorrow that tinged the man's emotionless words. Rogers nodded to him and breathed deeply. "I think there are a few things we need to discuss before we continue."

"Continue with what?" Rogers asked, a measure of anger filling him.

"With whatever we need to do to stop the enemy," Fury replied.

Rogers frowned and nodded slowly as he sighed. "Yes sir," he said. "We need to discuss a plan of action." He began moving back towards the bridge, speaking softly to himself. "It's the right thing to do."

(*)

"Darcy if you do not eat willingly, I do have the power to make you," Loki observed as he looked casually into a golden chalice still mostly filled with Asgardian wine. Darcy, Selvig, and Loki sat at the table Stark had left in the largest dining room with the most decadent spread it had ever seen. Golden dishes, large portions of meat, fresh vegetables and fruit, and large loaves of fresh breads and cheese as well. Selvig had already eaten and had only just been ordered to go and rest for exactly six hours, no more and no less. After the man had left, Loki had given the command to Darcy, who had not eaten anything as the trickster sat at the head of the table, reclined and looking as comfortable as a cat on a pile of old books. He had felt more than regal with all this grandeur and control over two individuals, one of them a female. The female might not have been entirely under his control, yet, but he would soon have all the answers he needed to wrap his powers around her mind and wield it as fluidly as his own. Darcy continued to glare back at him and huffed. He smirked and set the chalice down with a sigh. "You might have control over your inner faculties, my dear, but your limbic system is quite separate from your mind and with the control I wield over electricity and clearly over your fluids at least from within, I can assure you that you will not be able to fight away that sort of supremacy."

"There's nothing about you that has any supremacy," Darcy shot back, seated not far but glaring at him in a manner that clearly stated she wanted to be elsewhere while leaving him in a quivering heap. Although it was also clear after all of the incidents before that this feeling was conflicted with the curiosity of who held him captive and if he could be made to seem as noble as his brother. This amused him and it kept her nearby, a duet of pleasant purpose.

Loki lifted one brow at her and grinned. "Care to test that theory?" he asked with a more smug tone than ever before.

Darcy growled and reached out, snatching a corner of bread and an apple. Loki lifted his chin proudly and watched as she ate both very quickly. It was a pity that the apple she had selected had been red, but at least she had obeyed. Loki watched as she quickly finished the apple and thought back to the few moments he had spent away from the tower after returning from Asgard. He had left a golden apple purposefully in his brother's hand as he slept, knowing that the warrior would mindlessly consume it and regain strength to a small degree in the morning. It would be a terrible shame to have The Chitauri thoroughly thrash him when he was already weakened. She finished the two quickly and then shoved the remnants of the apple on the golden plate in front of her away firmly, trying to be as improper as possible in the presence of the arrogant trickster. He smiled and rose slowly, holding out a hand towards her.

She stood quickly, folding her arms and taking a step backwards. "What now, huh?" she said angrily. He raised a brow in confusion at her, a genuine confusion that almost mirrored hurt. She huffed and threw her arms out to either side. "You-you-you keep taking me with you, threatening me, wounding me, healing me, terrifying the living daylights out of me, feeding me, and now what?!"

"You have had food and water in this shelter," he said simply. "I believe the last thing you stated needed for human survival was sleep."

"Great so you expect me to just drift off to dreamland while you perch out over the city getting ready to take over the world like an evil gargoyle?!" she shouted furiously.

Loki put both hands in front of him as if calming a spooked horse and shushed her as best as he could without sounding too condescending or kind, either. Darcy glared at him, growling as he inched closer. "Darcy, there is little need to do anything else for anyone of us this night other than rest. Your world is at peace and my army is not yet ready to do battle," he said soothingly, but commandingly.

"Do you ever stick with one emotion, just one?!" Darcy shouted. Loki sighed heavily as he moved closer to her, raising his scepter and shifting it in his hand. "Or what about one train of thought or one, just one activity! You change more often than . . . than . . . than . . ."

"Than what?" Loki asked suggestively as he inched even closer. Darcy stepped back, still glaring and instinctively reaching for her taser and growling as she realized that it was gone. Loki chuckled and slowly slipped his hand into one of the leather straps that made his leather vestments. Darcy's eyes narrowed more hatefully as she watched him hold up her taser, looking it over with amusement. "You know if I didn't know any better, and perhaps I do not, then I would say you're at a complete loss of more than just physical power without this."

"Yeah, but you're still a prisoner, too," Darcy retorted, still wanting to see him react more fully, more fearfully at the mention of the creature that had threatened him in the vision.

He said nothing, examining the taser and finding the switch to change the weapon to firing long or close range. He then looked at the dial that controlled the intensity. She suddenly noticed a glint out of the corner of her eye. A knife, a large old knife that was meant to cut through the sinews of beef. She reached out quickly and snatched it, whirling around and trying to hold it back out in front of him. He laughed and slammed the taser right at the edge of her sternum. Darcy screamed as electricity sparkled and popped. She squeezed her eyes closed, but curiously she felt no pain, none at all. She didn't even feel the tingling that the smallest doses of electricity produced in any human. She slowly opened her eyes and looked down. The electricity fizzling from the device was changing not her internal functions, but something else entirely. Pale blue cloth, soft as silk itself, began to appear over her from the very edge of the taser. Darcy gasped as her jacket, sweater, leggings, and even her boots were overtaken and the azure cloth took their place in the form of a gauzy, flowing night dress. She looked back up at him as he withdrew the taser leaving her thinly clad and barefoot.

"Perhaps that will change your spirits before you sleep." he offered. Darcy huffed again and turned to the knife she had been holding. She snarled and glared at it, noting that it had transformed into a silvery rose with a wooden stem. Loki smirked and dodged as she hurled the knife-blossom at him. "Perhaps all of your needs have yet to be addressed, then."

"What else is there, you nasty piece of work?" she snorted.

Loki waved his hand and the two suddenly appeared in the large bedroom that Stark had designed to be perfectly sized, sound-proofed, and soft enough for both himself and for Pepper. Darcy's eyes widened in horror as he snapped his fingers, turning off all but one dim light in the room as he swept behind her and placed both his cool, smooth hands on her warm, trembling shoulders. She stayed perfectly still as her heart began to race. "I do believe you mentioned that carnality was also a human need," he crooned. Darcy shuddered all the harder as he swept a lock of hair away from her ear and leaned down, whispering huskily. "Though I, myself, would classify such things less as a need and more as a desire."

Darcy whirled around and shoved him harshly away. He laughed in sheer amusement at how bold she continued to be with him even unarmed. He smiled and looked back at her with a terribly powerful expression hidden behind his seductive smile. "Do you forget that while your mind is your own, I told you that I can, and will, command your body?"

"I never should've helped you," Darcy hissed.

Loki sighed heavily and stood perfectly still. Darcy stared back at him unyieldingly before she felt a strong hand grab her by the arm and drag her towards the bed. She gasped and, before she had time to react, the real Loki pulled her over to the bedside, pulled back the coverings unceremoniously, and then shoved her onto the mattress, throwing the covers back over her. She growled, sitting back up and folding her arms as he began to walk away, clapping once and causing the false vision of himself to disappear. He slowly made his way to the door and turned to glance over his shoulder a beat. He smirked. "It's a shame, really. Even not as king, I can give you all that you need . . . all that you desire."

"You wouldn't be doing it for me," Darcy replied hotly.

Loki snickered and turned away. "I never claimed to have done anything for you, Darcy," he replied. "Not even healing you."

"If you try anything at all and I mean anything . . ." Darcy began furiously.

"Go to sleep, Darcy," Loki called back.

Darcy frowned and leaned back against the pillows. She cursed herself silently for having eaten anything when it could've been enchanted or poisoned. She knew that the scepter didn't work on her, but she couldn't be sure that any other forms of magic used on her very person would be just as thwarted. Why in the world had she allowed her curiosity to get the better of her or her outrageous compassion for even those in the wrong? She groaned at realizing that the very same curiosity is what had spared her life and was now taking care of her; his curiosity of why she had evaded the scepter's control. He was nowhere in sight, but something told Darcy that she would not be alone at all that night. This was terribly unsettling and she doubted that anyone would sleep peacefully, certainly not the trickster who would be pacing and watching his prey from a distance. She sighed heavily and leaned back against the pillows. At least Dr. Selvig had been fed, had drunk some water, and was now sleeping for a short while. She had done at least part of what she had set out to do in the first place. She laid back further and pulled the covers up to her chin. What else was there to do? She couldn't escape, that would be fruitless. She didn't know how powerful or dangerous taking hold of the cube with her bare hands would be, especially now that it was settled neatly atop a cylinder of iridium. Darcy sighed and shook her head. She had eaten, she had downed some water, and she was safe within the tower for the time being. All that she needed to do now was sleep. She could deal with the rest of this in the morning, but for now there was at least a little pause in the chaos.


	22. The Chitauri Are Coming!

**Chapter 22: The Chitauri Are Coming!**

Loki spent a good part of the night watching Darcy sleep. He slipped back into her subconscious, stronger than before after being restored by Asgardian wine and food as well as a small victory. Darcy did not seem to be in any mood to speak to him or allow him in and even the dreams that he had felt through her heart before were now kept from him making him more irritated with her than ever. In the distance on the verdant plane in her mind was the overcast 'dark place' and he spent a few moments staring at it, but the more he tried to get closer to it, the further it seemed to get and a breeze whispered '_**go away**_' none too kindly. After giving up on any further victory finding out what protected Darcy and breaking it down, he strode around the rest of the tower, looking out through the windows at the unaware city and the lights that gave testimony to the sundry lives he would soon claim as his subjects. He had even spent some time contemplating the notion of going and seeing about his brother and using magic to try and alter his strength somehow to make the ensuing battle more fun. There was, of course, the possibility that Thor might awaken while Loki did so. He also considered the fact that, when Thor awakened, he would be in a foul temper and plant Loki firmly into the ground before taking him back to the helicarrier where he would be placed in far less luxurious accommodations than the glass cage. He also peered in at Selvig and, like clockwork, the man awoke after exactly six hours of sleep and headed right back out to the Tesseract.

The trickster sighed and then found himself a perch to watch the man's work for a span. It would be a long and harrowing day, but it would end with the greatest accomplishment Loki had ever made in his life. A measure of sheer excitement moved through him at the thought that within a few short hours The Chitauri would besiege Midgard, Midgard's leaders would beg for him to end the slaughter and bow to him as their new king, and he would have the power to imprison and quite possibly enslave his brother's new compatriots as well as possibly his brother as well. A broad grin moved across his features at the thought of enslaving that insipid Jane Foster and putting her to work alongside Eric Selvig in some menial and humiliating position. An equal amount of excitement drew his attention elsewhere as he thought about all of the potential roles he could force Darcy into taking up in his service.

Selvig hesitated in front of one of the panels, simply watching the adjustments he had made. Loki frowned and gripped his scepter, standing. "Get on with it, man, don't just stand there gawking at it," he snapped. Selvig turned to him, the bluish blank stare in his eyes. "There is precious little time and the portal must open . . . today."

"It's ready, sir. It just needs some time to get as much energy as it can from the power source here," Selvig whispered in near exasperation. There was a greater measure of wonder and excitement in the man's voice. Loki and Selvig grinned in unison, a chilling sight to anyone that might've known the truth of what was transpiring. Having been under Loki's partial supervision and control since leaving Puente Antigua and being introduced to the Tesseract in the first place, Selvig now felt as if he had just finished some months-long project on curing a disease or finding a diplomatic solution to war. In fact, the man had done the very opposite, he had directly created the device that would open a portal to a plague that would turn the tides of war to the trickster's favor permanently. He had essentially declared it at the facility before it had collapsed and the challenge had been accepted by Fury and his superiors. Then he had been granted only the scepter, his wits, and his magic. These were power enough, but not quite enough for the spectacle he so desired. He grinned even more brightly and found himself unable to stifle a giddy laugh at the thought of what would come in the next few hours. Selvig turned and smiled brightly at him as well, a tear rolling down his cheek in deranged happiness. "We've done it! She'll bring us a new universe!"

"No, you fool, I will bring you the new universe," Loki corrected suddenly becoming angry with this lowest of creatures for a moment. He turned and began to stride back into the tower. "But the portal will be ready soon for me to begin."

A sound coming from a distance away in the sky caught his keen hearing and he turned back to the sky over the ocean. He smirked as he recognized the sound and sight of the red and yellow-armored warrior that had arrogantly side-blinded his brother on the mountain side. In truth, this creature with whom he had been granted the least time to speak or see without the armor, intrigued him more than the others. The shield-bearing soldier out of his own time was a nuisance and thought himself as noble and stalwart as Odin had hoped both his sons to become. The monster who paraded himself as a physician was interesting to toy with, but nothing more than that. The archer Barton was obviously easily swayed as long as he had a target, hardly interesting at all. There was, of course, the seemingly powerless one that Darcy had subdued, the smooth-headed and calm-mannered one that had created a weapon from the Destroyer's power. Loki shook the thought of him away; he would be a trifle to overcome once he was king. This armored creature, though, he seemed to think himself equal to the god-like Asgardians that challenged him. That was reason enough to garner Loki's attention, but then the thought that this being was essentially a weakling made strong only by the armor he had created fascinated him. Like Loki he was a man of wit and scheme, but he had found a way to match Thor in strength and brute force. Yes, very interesting.

As news had reached Stark and the others that Coulson was not going to live for more than a few hours, the team had split away from Fury. Rogers and Stark had discovered exactly where Loki must've taken the Tesseract (and Rogers reminded him that he also had a hostage, though Stark felt that Darcy could be kept safe regardless of how badly Loki was thrashed) and a plan had been formed. In the suit of armor, still battered from repairing the helicarrier's engine and turbine, Iron Man had promptly left to start the first strike against Loki and his army. He had asked once for Selvig to shut off the Tesseract, a useless gesture, and then turned his attention to blasting the cube with a weapon of his own. He dodged the blowback as Jarvis announced that the force-field protecting it was pure energy and that the Tesseract itself was feeding entirely on the arc reactor's immense source of power. Resolved to another means of disarming the trickster, Tony Stark came in for a fluid landing and immediately a strange ring of metal with moving oddments appeared. Loki watched in further amusement as they removed his armor from him.

_Odd_, he thought. He couldn't have matched Thor without the suit and he knows that I have power as well. _Why in the world would he make himself vulnerable_? Stark turned and met Loki's gaze like a young lion challenging the older leader of the pride and Loki simply gazed back in suppressed astonishment. He followed in through a different entrance, watching how calmly and casually this man went about moving into the enemy's new stronghold. _Then again_, Loki reminded himself, this was his dwelling place. _Why should he not feel comfortable here . . . for now_? "Please tell me you're going to try and appeal to my humanity," Loki sneered as he strode in, gripping his scepter proudly.

Stark moved towards the bar and looked over at Loki as though he was simply a visitor making a brief appearance, arms folded neatly behind him as he stepped to the edge of the marble counter. "Uh, actually I was planning on threatening you," he replied with a tone of insolence that made the trickster laugh inwardly all the more. "That is, provided you still have a hostage. You still have her alive and well? Because if you don't then I'm just going to kill you right now and get it over with."

"You should've left your armor on for that . . . either of them," Loki replied with an audible chuckle at the man's puffed-up presence. He raised the scepter with his words to emphasize the need for Stark to be respectful and rightfully afraid.

Stark simply shrugged. "Yeah, well, it has seen some mileage and you've got the glowstick of destiny there. But back to my question, do you still have a hostage or do I have to rebuild my own penthouse after I put a tank missile five miles into your skull?"

Loki smirked a little more and gestured towards the small hallway behind the bar that led into the private rooms in the apartment. Stark raised one brow at him for a moment and pointed as well. Loki nodded and lowered his scepter, asserting that he would remain neutral as Stark made sure the girl was unharmed. It still amused him and impressed him that the presence of one life was important to these heroes, all of them, though it seemed of no importance at all to the organization that seemed to own them. Clearly there was a contradiction that was a distinct part of what had made the group so uneasy with one another and with their work. Stark followed the hallway into the master bedroom at once and noticed Darcy lying sound asleep on the bed, the covering on the window still drawn down and making the room comfortable enough for sleep. Stark slipped out of the room and into the large bathroom, fumbling through the medicine cabinet as he found the enormous first aid kit that exceeded the normal standards for a Red Cross kit kept at home. Aside from the usual bandages, salves, and gauze, there were various syringes, vials, and even tools for removing bullets and glass. He took one of the syringes in hand, remembering what he had been told about the incident involving Coulson and Thor on the helicarrier. Darcy was in danger being a hostage, but she would also be a liability if not properly subdued herself. Silently, Stark made his way over to the bed and looked over the shoulder that had once sported the infection. It seemed to have healed and the genius silently congratulated the trickster on doing something decent having also been told about the incident rumored to have taken place in the infirmary (Thor, backed by Coulson's word, swore that it was his brother's power and not the physicians that had kept her alive and begun to heal her). Darcy stirred a little, then sat upright and looked up at the man in groggy confusion.

"Oh good, I can explain this before I have to do it, that seems a little more fair," Stark said as he tore open an alcohol prep swab and rubbed it quickly over the opposite shoulder. She opened her eyes a more at the scent of the alcohol and then noticed the glint of the thin metal protruding from the syringe in Stark's hand. Her eyes widened. "Don't worry, it's not something dangerous and I have never had to, nor will I ever even be tempted to use a Roofie; but you, and the modern marvel that is your taser," he said glancing at the bedside table to see if it was within her reach. He frowned as he noted that it wasn't there meaning he needed to act quickly. If it was in her hand now, it would likely be used and the consequences of electrocuting a man with a small arc reactor in his chest were more severe than frazzling an immortal. He suddenly grasped her shoulder and plunged the needle deeply into her skin. She cried out and reached out for him, grasping his arms to push them away defensively. " . . . you will be safer and so will everyone else if you just go right back to sleep. Alright?"

"Oh, my gosh, the Tesseract! Dr. Sevlig's been working on it here which means he's been using your tech- . . ." Darcy tried to say before the potent pentothal took effect and she slumped backwards.

Stark caught her and cautiously laid her back comfortably on the bed. Stark felt her pulse for a moment and, satisfied that his layman administration of the sedative was just as good anyone in healthcare, he stood and disposed properly of the empty syringe in the bathroom before leaving the room and calmly walking back out to the bar. Loki had remained in place, waiting patiently for Stark to be assured that she was alive and possibly rouse her to try and escape with her. To the trickster's relief and confusion, he had not brought her with him. "She's still out of it and uh, I should probably burn that mattress and all the sheets after last night, shouldn't I?" Stark asked sarcastically as he looked back at the trickster with a pleasant smile. "Did you use protection?"

"From what?" Loki asked in bewilderment.

"Okay, that's a 'no' on that one. Did you sleep with her at all?" Stark asked, ready to fire a missile at the little cretin as soon as his new armor was well in place depending on the answer.

"Of course not a king does not sleep on the eve of war," Loki replied indignantly. Stark looked absolutely delighted at the immortal's misunderstanding. The trickster was less than amused, angered that these peons still saw him as anything less than a superior creature who behaved as royalty and a cunning warrior.

"Alright, so not only are you an extra-terrestrial sociopath with inferiority issues, you're obviously the universe's oldest virgin, too," Stark said quickly as he slipped behind the marble counter. "Can't imagine why the ladies on your home-world aren't lined up to get a piece of your brand of crazy."

"While I am amused at your feeble attempts to insult me and my prowess, a feat ironically being done by what I perceive to be a letch," Loki replied hotly. "Your fate is still sealed within that cube and it is in my hands now. Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, not stalling, threatening," Stark corrected. He reached out and took a large bottle of Scotch off one of the shelves after putting exactly three ice cubes in a small glass. He glanced at the counter at the prototype bracelets he had made to summon his newest model suit of armor. Loki had thought nothing of the two wrist bands on the counter as he had wandered about. Stark had a reputation for courting hundreds of women and these were quite possibly trinkets to appease the next notch on his belt. Stark poured the brown liquid into the glass and capped the bottle, reaching out for the first bracelet. _Should've gotten rid of these when you had the chance, Ozymandias_, he chastised the trickster internally with a sneer. _Now it's going to come back and bite you right where the 'sun don't shine'_. He clicked the first bracelet on and looked back over at Loki with feigned hospitable concern. "No drink, are you sure?"

Loki angrily turned away from the arrogant man and looked out the nearest enormous window that overlooked the platform containing the Tesseract. Part of him was still quite furious with the notion that these beings would pose opposition to him at all even after being shown only a minuscule display of how powerful Loki truly was and how much sway he could hold over even the most loyal group of humans. He growled inwardly as his senses also caught the presence of something else. Thor was awakened and he could feel a slight shift in the air even from this distance as the warrior lifted Mjolnir into the air and caught a surge of lightning into it, readying to battle his little brother as soon as he could speedily arrive in the city. It wouldn't take the older long to seek out the younger, it never had and Loki knew this. Things were getting more irritating and complicated by the minute. Stark took the opportunity with Loki turned away to take the second bracelet in his hand. The trickster drew in a deep breath and filled himself with focus and resolve.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that," he hissed, more of a reminder to himself that he would have an army and that he could not afford to allow any apprehension, any doubt to take hold of him now. He whirled around to face Stark, lifting his chin proudly and glaring at the man with renewed conceit. He shrugged and lifted both arms to his sides as if he were simply speaking about taking a short walk and not laying waste to an entire civilization, intent upon its domination. "What have I to fear?"

Stark smirked, noting that nearly undetectable hint of uncertainty in the trickster's verdant eyes. If there was one thing a full-tilt diva couldn't take, it was anyone raining on their parade, particularly their debut. Now it was time to unleash the cloud. Greater confidence filled Stark's voice as he replied, "The Avengers."


	23. Wake Me When the War is Over

**Chapter 23: Wake Me When the War is Over**

Darcy groaned as the serum burned through her more quickly than Stark had planned. She fought her way back to full consciousness and climbed off the bed in practically a stupor. She crawled around the room until she found her other clothes and struggled to dress herself. She groaned and felt a wave of nausea hit her as the sound of explosions suddenly met her. She grunted and knelt, covering her ears and losing a few more minutes to forced unconsciousness. Her lungs shuddered violently as she heard an even louder set of explosions and the ground trembled beneath the tower. "What did you do now?" Darcy grumbled, meant to be heard by the trickster but unfortunately not near enough to be heard. She crawled out of the room after finding her glasses and slipping them on. Her eyes still couldn't focus and she froze, kneeling and clutching her knees to her chest as a violent explosion of some sort suddenly burst through the main building out near the platform where Selvig had placed the Tesseract. She moved closer to it a few paces as the ground trembled once again. "You better be hurt really bad by the time I find you."

"Enough!" Loki's voice suddenly shouted. Darcy froze and realized that the trembling hadn't ceased entirely and there was, quite probably something in here with him creating it. She remained perfectly still and waited as Loki continued to shout at someone, or something. "You are all of you beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by . . ." BAM! The trickster's indignant ranting was interrupted, violently, by what Darcy assumed was either a well-deserved punch in the face or some other means of worthy silencing. She lowered herself to the floor as five more powerful slams shook the building terribly interlaced with a few desperate gasps and screams from Loki.

"_Puny god_," another, unfamiliar voice announced as the floor slowly ceased trembling.

Darcy felt the adrenaline clearing her senses and she hurried out to the room where she had first been brought in Stark Tower which now looked as badly damaged as the rest of Manhattan would. She gasped and stared in amazement at the walls behind the bar and off to the side that were severely crumbling after other objects had collided with it. The floor was in shambles and a large crater seemed to have formed near the center with a smaller one right beside it. She gasped in horror at the sight of what lay in the middle of the larger crater and then hurried over to it, kneeling again.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't mean it literally!" Darcy said loudly as she glanced up at the sky accusing the supreme deity she acknowledged in emergencies. Panting, she knelt beside the trickster and looked over him anxiously, strangely both amused and unsettled by this sight. "What the heck did you do?!" Darcy exclaimed as she stared down at a very battered and badly handled Loki. Several cuts lined his face along with a deep gash in his forehead and lip. His eyes were opened and he was trying to inhale loudly. _At least he's not dead_, she thought. _What am I saying? He's trying to subjugate the world, he deserves to_ . . . "No," she said aloud. He coughed and looked up at her as she sighed and then began brushing debris away from him. "No one deserves to die. W-w-w-wait here, I'll go get the First Aid kit. Please don't move if you're bleeding out!"

(*)

While Darcy did her best to administer minor assistance to the fallen anti-hero, the scattered heroes had gathered together and more than efficiently thwarted the attack. Several large beasts were disposed of, numerous citizens were saved, and all six heroes managed to work side-by-side until the means to undo the portal were discovered. The attack ended when Stark, in the seventh of his Iron Man armored suits, took a nuclear weapon meant to irradiate Manhattan by the World Security Council and sent it through the portal into the Chitauri mother-ship which was followed by Natasha using Loki's fallen scepter to clip the energy beam emitting from the Tesseract that fed the portal, effectually disarming it. Stark had fallen back to earth, none to gracefully until the Hulk had stopped the fall, and the group had gathered to make their way back up to the top of Stark Tower where Hulk had pointed when asked if he knew where Loki was. It had taken the group seconds to join Natasha on the building as she finished making sure that Selvig was not too greatly injured after the head trauma, though he was showing terrible signs of a concussion worse than the blow she had landed on the side of Barton's skull. Thor taking hold of Rogers, Stark taking hold of Barton, and Hulk thrusting his enormous form onto the building by himself, the team landed swiftly beside the confused, but grateful Natasha who still held Loki's scepter tightly.

(*)

Darcy had managed to clean a great deal of blood away from the trickster's face and even put a soothing amount of antibiotic ointment on the wounds over his eye. He remained perfectly still for the first few moments, completely in shock that another creature that unintelligent could do him this much harm. What troubled him most was that he had just stood in place while the obviously larger Hulk had pummeled him thoroughly. Why had he not simply taken at least a protective step to the side? He groaned inwardly and finally found the strength in himself to push away from the floor and try to crawl away from the crater enough to situate himself to stand slowly. Darcy sighed heavily and put down the blood-stained swatch of gauze with a huff. "Hurts doesn't it, you creep? That's what you get for trying to take over the world, Pinky," Darcy said angrily, throwing down the gauze and following his movements as the rest of the trickster collected his thoughts and breath, struggling to stand on his hands and knees. Darcy crawled over beside him, doing the same, but frowning and glaring at him instead. "How much damage did you do down there? Huh?"

"I do not need your insolence, Darcy, now or ever," he groaned as he climbed over the edge of the floor nearest to the wall and tried to push himself up all the more. Darcy scoffed, but reached forward and placed a hand under each shoulder, trying to lift him up. He growled, furious that not only had a creature gotten the better of him in a very physical way that not even Thor had done since their adolescence, but he was reminded with Darcy's presence of the ever-present defiance that humanity had made in her ability to be free of his scepter. His scepter . . . he should never have allowed himself to release it as he fell. Had he kept a grip on the handle the heroes would never have been able to close the portal and he had distinctly felt the energy of the Tesseract leave. This was beyond failure and there were many to blame, though Loki suspected that his 'mentor' would not accept the notion that humans had posed enough of a threat to deter his power; the Chitauri had been a failure as well, far too weak and unprepared to deal the necessary death blows to humanity's freedom. He felt Darcy's fingers wrap around the leather armor and try to pull him up further. Snarling, he turned and shoved her firmly away with a loud grunt. "I don't need your help, either!"

"Hey, I'm not the one that laid you into the floor, alright? I'm the one that was kissing your little boo-boo's so a little gratitude isn't too much to ask!" she protested. He had been too weakened by the Hulk's attack to force her back as firmly as he had usually been able to do which fed her verbal hostility all the more. She huffed and folded her arms. The sound of cracking glass and footsteps caught her attention. She turned and gasped as the room filled with even more people, very angry people. She took a step backwards as each of them glared furiously at Loki and raised their respective weapons, surrounding him menacingly. "Uh oh."

Loki froze and listened for a moment. He had thought that the sounds were simply part of the absurd reverberations still pulsing through his head painfully. He drew in a sharp breath and slowly turned around, met with the sight of all six heroes, the Hulk still with them in Banner's place, staring down at the trickster as they flexed the power they now held over him. Loki sighed heavily, glancing from one face to the next, hesitating as he looked at Barton whose eyes had returned to their previous state and his mind clearly was now affixed on dealing permanent collateral damage to his former commander. Loki groaned and found himself in a far more disturbing predicament than being caged behind the glass. He drew in another breath as Darcy moved closer to him, almost seeming to be afraid as well. "If it's all the same to you," he groaned, then smirked a little with a glance at his brother and then fully at Stark. "I'll have that drink now."

"Yeah," Darcy muttered, kneeling behind him and staring back at the heroes in bewilderment. Thor seemed to lock eyes with her in concern, but made no movement forward and the rest of the team seemed to be staring just as harshly at her as well except for Rogers. She placed a hand over Loki's defensively and confusedly. "Me too."


	24. Aftermath and New Science

_(((Close to being over?! Now what would give you that idea?! No, my friend, this is just about at the MIDDLE of the story. Darcy still has to help free Loki from his real captivity under Thanos and Loki has to help release Darcy from the captivity of 'the Dark Place'! This chapter is mostly a little segue. Got the flu vaccine and it's reacting badly with me so I'm doing my best to keep up with my fictions, mailing cards, holiday baking, and visiting with friends and family all at once! This story and it's magnitude of fun, just like The Avengers, is my self-indulgent holiday and the respite I get from the hectic world around me! I hope everyone is still enjoying this and continues to have as much fun with the characters as I do. Namaste')))_

**Chapter 24: Aftermath and New Science**

Thor was the first to move forward and pull Darcy firmly away from the trickster's side, looking her over carefully for wounds other than the mark that his brother had left on her. Darcy almost felt as though she needed to defend herself from the compassionate gesture, but Thor's strength was too great to refute and she found herself in an awkward embrace that compelled her to straighten her glasses thrice. As Natasha went back outside to retrieve Dr. Selvig, Rogers stood guard over Loki and ordered Stark to find a suitable way to keep the trickster in place as they formulated their next course of action. Thor finally released Darcy and looked down at her with gladdened relief. He held onto both her shoulders with a huge sigh as she straightened herself and fought away the last wave of lightheadedness as the sounds of massive sirens began to sound from the streets below.

"Darcy, you have no idea how wonderful it is to know you're alright," Thor said kindly. She shifted and smiled back at him, glancing at the trickster with apprehension as he stared hatefully back at Rogers. "Never fear. I am sure my brother's hold on you will be broken after the power of the Tesseract has left your world."

"His hold?" Darcy asked, forgetting for a brief moment that her eyes were still marked by his power. Loki gave a small smirk at the only victory he still held at the moment which was the mark itself. She frowned and sighed, putting one hand over one of his massive hands over her shoulder. "He just made me look different, that's all, it's not like what he did to Agent Barton and Dr. Selvig, not at all."

Thor looked her over more carefully and then glanced back at his brother. "Is this true?" he asked.

Rogers sighed and looked back up at Thor with irritation. "I don't think Miss Lewis is as under his control at the moment, but you aren't still going to believe a word your brother says, are you?" he asked with a flash of anger. Thor frowned at him and Darcy felt the muscles in his fingers tense, a testimony that the thunder-warrior's hands, forearms, and arms were just as tensed and ready to defend his brother even now. Darcy placed a hand quickly on his shoulder before he could give a physical reply. "Besides, she's probably not being used by him at the moment. He'll wait to use whatever hold he has over her until a more opportune time, right?"

"He's very astute for a mortal . . . an American mortal at that," Loki sneered.

"Oh you really want another beating, don't you?" Rogers added in a warning tone. He pressed one hand against the other, crackling his knuckles intimidatingly. "Attacking a young lady, assaulting an entire city with just civilians as targets, and now you want to start throwing insults at the greatest country that's ever existed?"

Loki glanced up at Thor. "I can see why you value their company," he remarked. "Their egocentric nature matches your arrogance perfectly."

Thor lunged forward, but Darcy held on tightly. He halted and looked back at her with a sigh. She frowned and wrapped both her arms around one of his, leaning her head pitifully against him. He sighed and set Mjolnir down with a 'thud' before placing his other hand comfortingly on Darcy's hands curled around him. Natasha led Selvig inside and announced that several emergency personnel, the National Guard, an immediate response team from the Red Cross and the government agencies meant to cover up the less believable parts of the incident were already arriving in droves. Star reappeared as the Hulk slowly allowed Banner his presence in the room once more. Stark watched the display with intrigue as he clenched a set of shackles in one hand and held a strange device in the other. Darcy watched it carefully and noted that it looked like something very much beyond high-tech . . . it almost looked as science fiction as the Chitauri that had attacked moments before. The closest item she could compare it to was the neuralyzer from another fictitious alien franchise. Stark knelt beside Loki with Rogers still standing menacingly over him. Barton moved closer, raising his bow with an arrow poised, ready to deal the blow to the trickster's eyesocket that he had do desperately wanted to do for days. Loki allowed Stark to fasten the shackles on both wrists in front of him before the team's genius gripped Loki by the collar and turned to the others.

"Everyone step into the other room for a moment, please," he announced. "I don't want this getting into anyone else's chochlea."

"What do our inner ears have to do with . . ." Darcy began. Thor firmly took hold of her and gently led her into the other room alongside the rest of the team. Immediately, Selvig rushed over to her and wrapped both arms snugly about her. She let out a small cry in surprise as he began to sob and apologize between labored breaths. "Dr. Selvig, what are you sorry for? You didn't do anything to me!"

"I remember what happened under his mind control! I remember a lot of things; I remember," he sobbed. He pulled her closer, regretting every moment he had chided her in New Mexico and at the NASA center. He stroked the top of her head as he pressed her against him. "I remember how terrified you were, but you were brave too, Darcy, so brave. I'm glad you were there, you made every difference in the world."

Darcy's heart leapt at those words; the first real positive reinforcement, the first real compliment she had received in a very long time. A few tears streamed down her cheeks as well and she wrapped her arms around him in return, pressing her head against his chest as the embrace continued. "I'm glad you're not hurt, Dr. Selvig, that's all I cared about," she replied.

"I know," he said sadly. "You didn't even think about your own safety, you kept trying to protect me, to get Agent Barton back, to keep him from getting a full grip on the Tesseract. Oh Darcy, what would we have done without you?"

Darcy smirked and pulled away, glancing at each of the other heroes present in turn. She sighed and gestured to them. "Um, I think you could've managed," she offered humbly. Selvig chuckled and gripped her shoulders with an affectionate last squeeze. "Besides . . . I don't think this is over yet."

(*)

Stark sighed and took a firm hold on Loki's chains, pulling him as close as possible to his face. "Now what was it I told you before you threw me out of my own window?" Stark mused sarcastically. Loki snarled at him and tried to pull away. He knew he could try and escape now or at least thoroughly tie into this arrogant mortal, but he also knew that he would probably be thrashed again in an instant by Banner's Hulk even if it meant more damage to Stark's precious dwelling. Then, he knew, Thor would set out after him and be less gentle than ever in retrieving him. The thought of being brutalized by Thor was more painful to consider than what he had been forced to endure by Hulk. He shuddered, but remained violently glaring at Stark. "Oh yeah, I remember. I said there's no throne, no version of that," here Stark gestured to the window and the city below it as it tried to begin repairing the massive damage, " . . . where you come out on top."

"Nothing in your realm is certain, you fool. I had no more a reason to fear your pathetic kind than I have reason to fear that simpering daft little didikko you're now bent on protecting and de-programming," Loki hissed back. Stark's eyes widened at the use of such a foul word. He knew the term _**didikko**_ from his travels in Europe and it had literally made some children cry to hear it. Loki noticed this and smirked. "I can only grow more powerful the more you try to defeat me. I've listened ever so carefully and learned all that I need to . . ."

Without another word, Stark suddenly raised the other item he had been carrying and placed it near the trickster's most available ear. Loki froze and felt every nerve within him suddenly burn and then go numb. He gasped and grunted, but could no longer speak. Even moving his eyes and eyelids was terribly difficult though not as impossible as moving the rest of him seemed to be. He shuddered violently internally as Stark pushed him back against the floor once again and smiled triumphantly at the oddment. Loki grunted and struggled to try and move some muscle, any muscle. Panic was beginning to take over as he realized he was totally paralyzed.

"Yeah, you've learned a few things alright," Stark mused. He reached up to his own head and removed the functional ear barriers that protected him from the object's effect. He held it out in front of the trickster as his chest heaved up and down laboriously. "You see this? A few months of research and a couple of weeks of development and testing. This little bad-boy renders anyone, and I mean anyone, with a central nervous system paralyzed for a good solid couple of hours. Here's the good part. Even though you have all these superior senses and magic on your side, you still have complete system of neurons and cerebral tissue. I'm not going to come out and say you still have a brain because the jury's out on that, but this, this little tiny human-made, and I emphasize human-made, high frequency device just made you into a helpless little mass of crazy. That's just one of the host of beautiful examples of new science I have in here at my disposal. Guess who gets to make sure you're not hurt while you're this helpless?"

Loki stared back at Stark in a measure of terror he had never felt before. This was worse than the glass cage, worse than the attack on Asgard, and it was verging on being worse than the torture and imprisonment he had endured with Thanos. He was indeed completely helpless in every aspect. He began to pant heavily, but he could only do so through his flared nostrils. Not even his mouth would open in the slightest to allow him to breathe more efficiently. In a matter of moments, the troubled and excessive breathing had made him so light-headed he was sure he would lose consciousness. At the moment, though, he would have welcomed it. He tried to close his eyes entirely, but found that they could barely blink halfway. A tear rolled down the side of his cheek uncontrollably as Stark stood. He tapped the trickster's shoulder as he stood and moved towards the door to the room where the others waited.

"Sir, I detect that the authorities are seeking out the members of the Avengers Initiative at the bequest of the World Security Council," Jarvis announced.

Stark sighed and frowned. "To congratulate us?"

"Regrettably, no, sir," Jarvis replied with a mechanical tone of disappointment and concern. "I gather that they wish to detain all of those involved at an internment facility for questioning and other less than pleasant ends."

"Gotcha," Stark replied. He opened the door to the adjacent room just as Thor had made his way over to Darcy and Selvig to join in on their comforting one another and conversing. He cleared his throat. "Guys, the heat is on us even though we've taken down the baddie and have him in our custody. So let's find a place to lay low until we know how to get you guys home and what to do next."

"I have an apartment in Brooklyn; it'll fit all of us and we can put the green-eyed-monster in the basement," Rogers offered. Thor gave him a sharp glance, but then nodded to stark with the others. Darcy shifted uncomfortably and frowned. "I'll show you where it is, but we're going to need a vehicle to get past all of the mayhem down there."

"Done and done-er," Stark replied with a wink. The rest of the group moved forward as Stark announced that Thor would have to carry his brother. He also explained that he had rendered him motionless for a few hours and that this would prove more effective than shackles alone. Darcy froze and noted the sight of the terrified and motionless trickster lying on the floor, gasping for breath in fear. She looked up at Thor in concern who shook his head and knelt, taking Loki in his arms as the rest of the team headed for the elevator to take them down to Stark's garage. "Brooklyn, huh? Not exactly a classy place, but it'll work in a pinch. I'll let Pepper know where we are and we can head right out to your place as soon as we're done."

"Done with what? We've already got our man," Rogers observed. He gestured to Darcy. "And we need to make sure she isn't in any immediate danger because of his magic."

"Right, right," Stark agreed. "But first we have unfinished business, remember?"

"What kind of unfinished business?" Banner continued as the elevator doors opened and the team walked out towards one of the larger, finer vehicles in Stark's impressive collection.

Stark sauntered over to it, opened the driver's side door and slipped in casually as he spoke, looking directly at Banner with a broad grin and a wink. "Shwarma."


	25. Unbiased Preconceptions

_(((Sorry this took so long, guys. Had some bad news, but so much good news and then tremendously great news this week! The notes and questions you guys keep sending for encouragement and curiosity have kept me going and I can't thank you enough! I hope everyone who celebrates the Festival of Lights is having a very Happy Channukah and those of you that celebrate Alban Arthuan/Yule/Solstice are getting ready for a wonderful holiday and those of you that celebrate Christmas (like me) are preparing to give more than you receive and have lots of love to surround you! Call someone you haven't spoken to in a while and hug someone . . . just for yourself! And no, my friends, we're only at the middle of this story, not close to the end at all!)))_

**Chapter 25: Unbiased Preconceptions **

Darcy remained absolutely silent as the group traveled quickly to the other side of New York. She closed her eyes after seeing only a few feet of the horrific devastation and hearing the shouting coupled with wails and screams. She looked down and noticed a few tears slip out of the trickster's eyes and her heart began to ache a little. Whoever had their hold on him, however small it had been, it was almost gone from him now, and the brother that Thor had described to them in New Mexico long before the Destroyer had shown them the aggression of other worlds was starting to surface yet again. She sighed and folded her arms, turning away from him to keep too great a measure of pity from forming. He had done terrible things. No matter what had been done to him aforehand he was still at fault for so much destruction. Rogers gave directions as best he could, allowing Stark to maneuver through the less ruined parts of the island as they headed swiftly into the mainland over the Brooklyn Bridge. The rest of the journey was vague for Darcy who was still computing all of these events and her role, whatever it had been, throughout the entire wreck that made up the past few days. She barely recognized the moment they arrived in the other large city, a commonplace formation for New York itself, and found herself quite dazed as the Captain gave orders for their arrangements.

Stark emphasized their need to celebrate and Selvig offered to stay with Loki, being a man with minimal medical training and an individual that would gladly take on the maimed trickster in combat if he began to stir again (given the nightmare that he had been put through by him already). Darcy mindlessly offered to stay behind as well, emphasizing her skill with her taser but not mentioning that Loki was probably the only creature that knew of its whereabouts, though she still wasn't sure why. Something lay in the back of her mind, perhaps something the trickster had left behind while he had been within her subconscious on those two memorable occasions. Selvig settled into a corner in the basement, holding his small laptop and pouring over information adding some notes of his own while Darcy sat silently glancing over at Loki every now and again. He was lying very still and breathing so very shallowly that she found herself afraid that he might stop breathing entirely at any moment. She realized that his eyes were closed and it had been a good five seconds since she had seen his chest rise or fall. She scooted closer and placed a hand carefully on his chest. He let out a grunt in pain and opened his eyes a fraction, drawing in another shallow breath. Darcy frowned at him and tried to form a scowl, but given all of the inhumanity she had seen and heard, she didn't feel like being a part of it at all even if it meant addressing a significant part of the source of it all. No, what the city, the world, and even this creature needed now was nothing but compassion and the best humankind had to offer.

"Is he saying anything?" Banner's voice interrupted Darcy's thoughts as he approached. She turned and shook herself, pulling her hand away from Loki's chest. She felt a set of cold, weak fingers wrap around her hand before she could pull it away fully and turned around. He had managed to move one arm and take hold of her hand, gripping it as best he could as another few tears streamed down the sides of his face. "Not sure if these are crocodile tears in the emotional sense, but you have got to be in a world of hurt that science hasn't ever explored," Banner remarked. Darcy noted a look of terror forming in Loki's eyes as he suddenly registered who it was that had joined them. He released her hand and she could tell that he was trying to muster strength to get away from the man. Banner seemed to recognize this as well as he knelt, opening a metal chest that held an array of advanced medical supplies. "Don't worry. The other guy isn't looking for a fight at the moment. He's still pretty happy with what he already did to you."

"And are you happy with such things as well?" Loki asked in a saddened rasp. Darcy turned and watched Banner frown, sighing as he reached in and withdrew a syringe filled with clear fluid marked '_**diacetylmorphine**_'. Darcy adjusted her glasses as her eyes widened. Whatever Loki had gone through in the other realms, they were about to be made incredibly pale by comparison to this trip.

"No," Banner replied flatly, almost sadly. He reached down to a tear in the trickster's armor and cloth nearest his shoulder blade, turning him and swabbing the exposed skin that wasn't broken and bleeding. "That kind of thing doesn't make me happy." With that, he plunged the needle into the immortal's flesh and Loki for the first time knew the small yet incredibly painful and irritating sting that he had either directly or indirectly forced Darcy to endure. He coughed, unable to draw in a breath deep enough to compensate for the searing pain that the chemical created as it burned deep into his muscle. Banner sighed and cleaned up the surrounding area with peroxide and gauze before dressing it and allowing him to lie back on his back fully. Banner placed a hand on the trickster's shoulder and frowned. "Look, there was something wrong with you before, something else. I don't know how to word it to anyone else but you're not like you were, your eyes, even they're different."

"Someone else has been threatening him for a while from somewhere out in space," Darcy added quickly, remembering what she had heard and surmised briefly from the vision with him. Banner turned to her and gave her a look that asked her to expound. She shrugged. "That's it, that's all I really know about it. He hasn't told me who it was, why they wanted the cube, and what all they expected him to do here for them," she said. Banner sighed and nodded, slowly standing. "But I do think we can pretty much count on the fact they weren't going to let him have hold of the earth for very long, even he was going to get shafted in the end and he seems pretty desperate to have someone to rule over so that was his only option and he went for it."

"I doubt that's all there is to it, but you might be on to something," Banner said with a kind nod to her. "You seem more . . . comfortable with him. Let that start to work and when he's not hurting so much maybe you can find out what really happened before everyone else decides what they really want to do."

"Why do you want to know what happened or help him at all? I mean, I know about the Hippocratic Oath and all, but that doesn't apply to aliens or mass-subjugating psychopaths, does it?" Darcy asked in confusion.

Banner smirked. "Do you know how I keep the other guy under control as often as I do?" he asked. Darcy shook her head. He chuckled. "I don't try to stay calm, I'm always angry. That's the secret, I just get used to being angry. The tricky part about that, though, is being angry at the right things. I can't be angry at someone if they didn't know what they were doing," he explained. Darcy sat more upright at this and glanced back at Loki who seemed to be breathing more calmly than before. "After all, if Dr. Selvig and Agent Barton were held under some kind of spell, who's to say that someone else didn't get a hold on him?"

"But he's stronger than they were, are, I mean," Darcy argued. She believed what Banner said to be true, she just wasn't sure how a creature as strong as Loki or Thor could be so enslaved. "That would've taken something a lot stronger, right?"

"Right," Banner replied as he closed to chest and made his way back up the stairs. "So strong we probably wouldn't have been able to see it, and neither would he. The smartest predators leave the fewest marks, the fewest traces."

"Like tigers re-using their own tracks," Darcy reasoned aloud. "Or polar bears blending with snow."

"Just make a mental note of anything he says," Banner added before he stepped onto the first stair. He glanced over at Selvig for a moment. "Try not to exert yourself too much, Erik. You've had a pretty bad head injury after days of some pretty severe trauma. I don't want you getting all wibbly-wobbly on me."

"I'm a little bit more aware of my limitations than you, Bruce," Selvig said with a wink. Darcy had learned that Dr. Selvig and Dr. Banner had been colleagues and friends long before either had worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and now it seemed as though no time had passed at all between them. Banner smiled and shook his head as he moved slowly up the stairs. "But bring the kid something to eat, alright? She's heading right for anorexia if she keeps up the way she has for the past three days."

"It's not my fault I lost my appetite while I was being held captive by Darth Hater and his minions," Darcy muttered unhappily. She scooted back over to where Loki lay, propped against a few blankets that Natasha and Banner had insisted upon using and a pillow that Rogers had willingly offered. Loki had thought to himself through the burning pain and overwhelming guilt coupled with shame and anger, that it was odd that these creatures were not immediately torturing him or had tried to execute him. Thor was likely behind the later and they lacked creativity meaning they were most likely to regroup and concoct more sinister tortures before inflicting anything on him. But why make him comfortable, why try and aid his recovery in the meantime? It was all very confusing and made his head hurt more than what was left of it already did. Darcy sighed and reached out for his hand once more. To her relief he seemed very willing to take it, wrapping his long, pale, and frighteningly cold fingers around hers. She breathed deeply and softly stroked the backs of his fingers with her thumb, watching him carefully as she noted the pain-killer taking effect.

"Do you hate me?" he suddenly asked.

"What?" Darcy replied in shock. Why in the world would he be concerned about it let alone vocalize it?

"It was not a complex query, Darcy Lewis," Loki continued slowly and deliberately. He turned his gaze, unable to move his head very well, but displaying the deepest of sincerity she had ever seen in him to her. "Do you hate me?"

"No," she replied quickly. Loki would have interpreted speed in most instances to imply a lack of thought and genuine nature, but in mortals it bore quite the opposite meaning in most instances. She scooted closer, clenching her hand tighter around his. "I'm still pretty pissed off at you, but I don't hate you. Hate's like the worst thing in the world, it's love but it's all twisted around. It's like the ultimate perversion. I mean, I want you to be sorry for what you did, but I didn't want you to be this sorry," she said gesturing to his limp form. "At least not while I was looking anyway. I mean, yeah, I completely thought about tying into you and I kind of enjoyed those couple of times I tased you which weren't nearly as bad as the tasing I gave your brother I should add, but I wouldn't just hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone or hate anyone, either; I don't hate anybody. No one should."

"You truly confound me," Loki said softly, furrowing his brow at her.

"Why, because I don't have the same juvenile penchant for the my daddy's gonna beat up your daddy complex you have?" she replied.

"That is, in truth, in no way applicable to my circumstance," he replied with an almost irritated sigh. "You have been repeatedly wounded by me or those I command, you have been thoroughly threatened, denied freedom, food, water, comfort, and still you boldly faced me. Your anger grew, I saw your expressions wax more incensed by the minute in the tower, particularly with your innocence in question, and yet here you kneel . . . not as you knelt before me in the tunnels, but as a friend, as a balm. You seek my help, tenderness, and for reasons that I cannot fathom you seem to not question it one wit."

"Actually I am kind of wondering if I've got temporary Stockholm Syndrome or something, but really you didn't do anything as terrible as you could have," Darcy remarked. Loki noted that her vision seemed to drift off into something else. "You still made sure I was alright even when you wanted me to kneel for you."

"No one can kneel while faltering with illness or undirected fear," he said with a slight laugh. There was very little room for him to laugh or speak loudly with breathing being so laborious. Darcy watched as his pupils began to grow smaller and his breathing grew easier. A slight smile crossed his lips. "I still do not understand what prowess allowed you to elude the grip of the gem from the Infinity Gauntlet," he mused. His eyes suddenly widened and he gripped her hand more tightly, staring at her in horror as he covered his mouth slightly with the other hand. "My father can never know it was missing from the vault! He'll beat me within an inch of my life every day of my life until he loses strength!"

"I think that ship might've already sailed there, Loki," Darcy remarked. "Thor kind of knows and I don't think he's going to leave that part out when you guys get home."

"Home," Loki whispered. His eyes swelled with tears once again and he relaxed back onto the floor and sobbed slightly. "I have no home. I was king, my mother gave me my birthright and I was betrayed by the only three friends I had in the world while Thor was exiled for assaulting the Jotuns against father's wishes. I could've ruled with honor, I did rule with kindness. No one feared me, why should they? There were only four, no, five traitors. And they will never be dealt with," he said trailing off into another soft sob. Darcy stared at him in disbelief. Thor had admitted openly that he had been exiled for attacking a race of creatures against his father's wishes. He had also mentioned briefly that his friends had broken the law in coming to retrieve him. "There is nothing for me on Asgard . . . no father, no mother, no friends . . ."

"Oh my goodness," Darcy whispered. "They committed treason? Thor committed treason?!"

"Twice," Loki muttered. "Once against the All-Father and then once against that wicked Loki."

"So he wasn't exaggerating," she thought aloud. "I mean you did lie to him about your dad being dead, but didn't it turn out that everyone thought he was going to die so it was only half a lie? Thor was never supposed to go home until your father woke up, was he? That's why that thing came here . . . it was sent to make sure that the king wouldn't be disobeyed a second time in case . . ." Darcy's eyes widened in a horrific realization. Thor had been quite violent when they had approached him in the desert and had only stifled his rage when he learned that humans were far weaker. " . . . in case he tried to do to us what he did to those ice giants."

"Something like that," Loki muttered. The lie that he had convinced himself poured from his bloodied lips as truth for the time being. Yes, the Destroyer had been enforcing the 'king's' command, making sure that Thor could not do the same damage that he had done so many times before. Loki smirked inwardly as the last remnants of his consciousness gave way to the elixir of Morpheus. He grasped Darcy's hand once more as tightly as he could manage. The scepter might not have worked, but her strange compassion that seemed as chaotic as the very schemes within his own mind, they were beginning to form the most perfect conclusions. If he could make her see his plight, make her see what had been done to him, then he would have the most powerful ally anyone on earth could have hoped to have had. Fie on the armor, shield, weapons, and rage that fueled their 'Mightiest Heroes'. The real power, the real protection and potent offense lay in the mind and spirit of a woman with noble cause. Darcy situated herself next to him, glancing back at Selvig for a moment who seemed too engrossed in his work yet again. Why in the world the heroes thought he would make a suitable watch when he could barely pry himself away from a project enough to give himself the necessary answers to the calls of nature on a regular basis was beyond her. Still, no one expected the battered trickster to cause much of a stir and they certainly didn't expect much from him with Darcy there to electrocute or engage him in diverting conversation. Rogers and Natasha both had asserted, along with Thor's agreement, that this was her contribution to their team and it was a very welcomed one. Now, it would undergo as drastic a transformation as the trickster himself. Darcy laid down next to him and frowned, looking at the wounds still on his face and shoulders that Thor had done his best to treat and dress before Banner had given him relief from the pain.

"I wish I could see what had a hold of you and what really happened," she muttered. "I know what it's like for no one to listen to you, to be just kind of shoved aside even when you know what you're doing."

"I can show you," he offered with a fond smile, turning his neck to face her for the first time, clearly unaffected by any pain that had been there before. She watched as his eyes began to glow a brighter and more crystalline green. "I can let you in the same way I found my own way into you."

"You mean, let me get into your mind?" she asked confusedly.

"Precisely," he replied. "It would be the most efficient way for you to create your own conclusions, after all. Seeing it without bias would be most fair, don't you agree?"

"Okay," Darcy said, shifting uncomfortably and then sighing. "But don't get all wierded out if your dream ends in a huge Bollywood musical number . . . I can't control that sometimes."

"That's fair," Loki remarked, unaware of what she meant but unconcerned with it as well. "Just relax and close your eyes . . . and let your breaths mirror my own. I can do the rest."

"Right," Darcy said with a heavy sigh. "The mind of an otherworldly magic-user who's been through hell, tried to take over the world, been smashed into bits, and is now swimming in a sea of a synthetic opiate . . . this should be more fun than Space Mountain."


	26. Fahrenheit Father and Son

**Chapter 26: Fahrenheit Father and Son **

Darcy opened her eyes slowly and wondered if she had managed to enter the immortal's mind at all. She certainly didn't feel any different. Darkness surrounded her and she suddenly felt as though she was sitting in the center of a large freezer. It was cold wherever she was, colder than she had ever been before. To her surprise, the cold didn't seem to penetrate past her skin. It was the oddest sensation to know that the extreme temperature surrounded her, but she wasn't succumbing to it at all. As the cold became more clear, so did a few images. Darcy slowly stood as light began to filter in through the darkness until it seemed like she was standing in a well-lit hallway. Had it not been for the images around her, she might have been convinced it was a hallway. However, on either side of her, from the hard, white marble floor to the vast and extremely tall golden ceiling, were shelves and shelves of books. Darcy's brow furrowed and she took a few steps, suddenly aware, as Loki had been, that she could not see herself though she knew that she was there. She continued moving forward, watching the strange collection of tomes with interest, though not enough interest to pay attention to the titles.

"Is this how you would behave in a library?" a familiar voice announced from out of nowhere. Darcy smiled and folded her arms, turning around and trying to locate the trickster.

"Honestly, ever since I got my Kindle I haven't really been back to a library. And before that I mostly read PDF's so . . . yeah, I guess this would be how I'd behave in a library when a disembodied voice was trying to dictate to me from a distance," Darcy remarked with a smirk. "And provided that same library was bigger than Buckingham Palace and colder than the Arctic Circle."

"Hmph," Loki snorted indignantly, still not visible. "If I were you I might take a closer look at some of these chronicles being that they are the focus of your surroundings."

"I thought your mind was a limitless _**open**_ book?" she chided. "Not a never-ending library freezer full of stuffy old antiques."

"Again, if I were you I might cease with your verbal redundancies and take a closer look at some of the titles at least," Loki corrected.

Darcy sighed heavily and turned around a few times, marveling for the briefest of moments at the fact she could see the steam from her own breath, but not her limbs, at least not clearly anyway. She folded her arms as one of the books began to glow. It was larger than the others around it and only a few yards away to her left on an eye-level shelf. She hurried towards it and stepped as close to the shelf as she could. Not sure about what the consequences would be, but still curious enough to experiment, Darcy placed both hands on the shelf and stretched her neck, pushing her head forward and then tilting it to the side as she read the title. The Rise and Fall of Loki: Rightful King of Asgard and Worthy Son of Odin, the title read in ornate gold letters. It reminded Darcy very much of some sort of special edition collection of Grimm's Fairy Tales or the entire compiled works of Shakespeare or Poe. She carefully reached out and put one hand on the top of it spine, pulling it towards her. To her relief it was behaving as normally as any other book and she smoothly lifted it from the shelf into both hands. She looked at the cover and felt an ache in her chest.

"Oh," she muttered sadly as she saw the image of Loki standing at the edge of a grand city, his head bowed sorrowfully facing away from what must have been a palace. Thor, alongside the four visitors that had joined him in New Mexico, and several other figures she didn't recognize but that she assumed were his parents and courtiers, all sat happily inside the palace seen through a window as having a great celebration. Meanwhile, the trickster stood outside at a great distance looking forlorn and dejected. Darcy frowned and stroked the cover gingerly. "You felt left out when they would, OW!"

Darcy shouted in pain as the book began to burn in her hands. She dropped it instinctively and stepped back, holding both hands in front of her entirely supine, blowing on them incessantly. She noticed the cold, but it hadn't bothered her; why did this sudden burst of heat create such pain? Curiosity continued to fill her and she knelt carefully in front of the book. A thought came to her and she placed both palms on the icy floor. She smiled and sighed with relief as the cold soothed all of the burning away. _I get what you're saying with this_, Darcy thought to herself. _The memories are painful, but the cold isolation is soothing to you. Neat metaphor; kind of obvious and a little unfair to not warn me about it, but neat_.

"I cannot anticipate your reactions to my memories, nitwit," Loki's voice corrected. Darcy huffed and shook her head as she lifted both palms from the floor, completely soothed from any signs of a burn. "Now take a closer look. See the betrayal to the one that was and should be king."

"How can I hold it open if it's going to . . ." Darcy began. She was still far too inquisitive for her own good or to realize that she was talking about not touching the book as she reached for it. It lay face down on the floor, spine facing upward and pages neatly spread out to either side under the covers like readied wings on a bird of prey preparing to take flight after a tasty target. She thoughtlessly grasped the book on its underside, quickly flipping it and shrinking back. The pages suddenly burst into flames. Darcy shrieked and leapt to her feet, backing into the shelf-wall nearest her and knocking several books off the shelves in the process. The books fell from the shelves but before they could all hit the floor near their respective positions, they all inexplicably floated towards the burning pile of pages and binding that had been the first book she'd handled. The flame grew more intense at the additions of the other books. Darcy gasped and then noticed that books from the other shelves were sliding off of their own resting places and joining the pyre. The flames were growing wider and leaping higher with smoke filling the chilled air just enough to trap its poison in the chill and hang menacingly around the growing incineration. Darcy gasped and coughed as a whisp of smoke caught in her throat. She turned and began to run as fast as she could in the other direction. Smoke seemed to be chasing her more than the fire itself and she found herself gasping for breath, trying to cover her mouth and nose with the cloth she was wearing, but unable to shield herself from the stinging cloud. Books now flew off the shelves past her, racing to their pyretic fate. Several of them slapped her in the face and a few caught her cheeks or her nose with their edges and pages leaving small cuts. Darcy grunted and now held both arms up over her face as she ran blindly. She ran headlong into the wall at the end of the hall of books and slammed into the hard surface. She fell backwards, the flames, books, and smoke, still only a few feet away. She quickly rose to her feet and suddenly noticed another hallway leading off in the other direction several feet away from where she stood. She drew in a deep breath and raced towards it, grasping the edge of the corner in order to make the turn more smoothly with the speed she had gathered in her panic. She continued to run down the hallway, this one just as cold albeit darker and not leading to anywhere in particular. Her heartbeat slowed and her mind began to center as she suddenly realized that the flames and smoke as well as the vicious flying books were no longer anywhere near her. She sighed heavily and slowed her movements as she made her way down this hallway towards what must have been another room. There was a brighter light coming from it, a combination of some magical source of bluish white light and the light of torches as well. She walked slowly forward, unsure of whether or not she should call out for the trickster as she reached the entranceway to the new room. This room was strange and appeared to be as lengthy as another shorter hallway, but definitely meant to store something significant judging by the staircase at one end and a large pedestal holding something that looked like the Tesseract. Darcy straightened her glasses and narrowed her gaze at the object. It wasn't cube shaped, it was larger and more rectangular than the Tesseract along with intricate carvings and what appeared to be metallic handles on either side. She quickly turned back to the hall behind her and wondered if the flames had ceased. She took a small step back towards the library halls.

"Stop!" a loud, masculine, and very authoritative voice shouted.

Darcy froze. This was not Loki and it was certainly not Thor, but this was clearly someone Loki was familiar with and held some reverence for given the sudden aura of natural fear with a tinge of affection she felt move through her at the sound. She slowly turned and gasped at noticing that at the top of the stairs now stood an old man. His white hair was shoulder length but of the same texture and possibly once the same colour as Thor's. His clothing was regal, golden and leather, and he wore a single patch over one eye with no strap connecting it to his head. His expression was wizened, but worried as well. Darcy turned to the other end of the room where the bluish oddment had been sitting on the pedestal. She recognized the height, hair, and posture of Loki in more simple green and leather attire, clearly his clothing when he had been at home. This other man must have been his father, Odin. Loki held the oddment up in both hands, grasping the handles and then slowly set it back down on the pedestal, breathing sharply and fearfully.

"Am I cursed?" Loki asked, not turning to face his father.

"No," Odin replied flatly, monosyllabically demanding that all fears of being a cursed creature or any creature that was possessed by this object be banished entirely and permanently. Darcy found herself drawn to stare at both of them in equal turns.

"Then what am I?" Loki asked in a trembling whisper filled with unprecedented contempt.

"You are my son," Odin replied proudly and firmly, wanting the conversation to end at that, but Darcy could tell by the somber expression on the man's face that he feared there was more to answer for as well as the fact that he was guilty of something, something terrible and long-lived.

Loki slowly turned to face the man. Darcy gasped and let out a small cry, but it went entirely unnoticed. She covered her mouth with her hand and stumbled back a pace at the sight of Loki not looking at all like himself. His skin was brilliant blue and strange markings not unlike the ones on the object he had held were etched into his cheeks and forehead. His eyes glowed a deep and fierce red that matched the anger forming in his features towards this man who was clearly hiding something from him, something significant. Darcy watched as the unnatural hues slowly faded and Loki's normal pallor returned, though something in her told her that the other colours hadn't been so unnatural to some degree. Loki glowered at the old man and hurled his next few words as harshly as he could. "What more than that?" Loki slowly moved to the base of the stairs, holding a harsh stare with the old man who was, for the moment, his father. "The casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?"

Darcy frowned. Thor had been banished, he had said, for going into Jotunheim against his father's wishes and breaking a truce with them. Was the possession of this object, this casket, part of the truce?

"No," Odin replied sadly, still holding his son's gaze but with a softer, more saddened expression. "In the aftermath of the battle I went into the temple and I found a baby." Darcy's eyes widened. A war had led to the truce? Of course, the ice giants, or frost giants, had been enemies and the truce that had ended it was what Thor had broken. She moved a fraction of an inch closer and watched as Odin continued recanting the tale. "It was small for a giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, simply left to die," he explained sadly. "Laufey's son."

"Laufey's son," Loki repeated, choking on the words as if he had just spoken the most foul name possible. Darcy glanced from one man to another, realizing what this all meant. Loki had been adopted and not just adopted, but taken from the stronghold of an enemy after a horrible war. His own father, obviously a frost giant of some importance for them to know his name, had abandoned him and left him to die and then this king of the enemy's forces had found him and taken him. Odin replied 'yes' as Loki's breathing began to grow more labored and his expression desperate with sorrow while he trembled. Darcy furrowed her brow, thinking to herself what Loki then spoke aloud. "Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?"

"You were an innocent child," Odin explained gently.

Loki's expression hardened at this and he panted as anger raged through him much like the fire that had consumed the books. He did not believe this, not for a moment and apparently had good reason to do so. "No," he said nearly gasping for breath in this shock. "You took me for a purpose; what was it?" Odin remained silent and Darcy moved a step forward and to the side, better able to see the trickster's face and in doing so felt the ache in her chest for this terrible revelation grow more painful. Loki waited only a few beats, more than he could bear in longing for the truth to be given to him. The anger and heartache overwhelmed him, raising his voice into a desperate shout. "_**TELL MEEEEEE**_!"

"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day; bring about an alliance, a permanent peace through you," Odin admitted. Darcy let out an indignant scoff and turned to the older man in disgust. The decent thing to have done would hav at least been to assert that the first thing he had said was true and then add this revelation as an afterthought when Loki had been older. He had been taken as a pawn, as a piece of political power?! That wasn't kindness, that wasn't tenderness, it wasn't even adoption . . . Loki had been a prisoner of war from infancy on. Odin frowned and looked down at the younger with disheartened resolution. "But those plans no longer matter."

"So I am no more than another stolen relic locked up here until you might have use of me," Loki reasoned aloud painfully.

"Why do you twist my words?" Odin retorted angrily.

"He's not twisting them; you just admitted you were using him all along!" Darcy shouted angrily. Neither seemed to notice her outburst. "You're a kidnapper!"

"You could have told me what I was from the beginning, why didn't you?"

"You are my son," Odin replied as soothingly as possible. "I wanted only to protect you from the truth."

"You don't 'protect' anyone you love from the truth, you jerk!" Darcy shouted once more. "There shouldn't be any secrets in a family . . . EVER!"

"Why? Because I-I-I-I'm the monster that parents tell their children about at night?!" Loki exclaimed, his entire musculature emotionally twisted in anger, sadness, and disgust . . . disgust for himself. Darcy looked back and forth between the two, watching as Odin tried to refute the notion, but suddenly looked terribly weak. She frowned as he reeled forward a little. Darcy's heart began to race as Odin shrank to the ground. He seemed to be having a heart attack or a stroke or both. She found herself frozen, unable to move or speak, but desperately wanting to beg Loki to call for help. She wasn't sure these creatures were vulnerable to the same ailments with age that humans were, but she was sure this man was overcome with something. "You know it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years! Because no matter how much you _**claimed**_ to love me," Loki shouted, moving forward up the stairs as his father knelt, trying to beg for forgiveness Loki assumed, glaring down at the old man. "You could never have a frost giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"

When Loki had finished shouting Odin reached out one last desperate time for his son's hand, but then collapsed entirely. Loki stared down at him in horror and silence. He knelt, holding both hands over him, unsure of what to do and his expression changed entirely from that of hatred to complete distress. _No, oh Sentry of Asgard no! Please don't take his life, not on my account! Please don't take my father, _he thought.

Darcy could hear his thoughts as clearly as if they had been lamented as vibrantly as his ranting a few moments before. Loki reached down and softly grasped his father's wrist, feeling for the life-pulse as healers had taught him to do. He also then noticed the soft breathing, the rise and fall of the old man's chest as he lay unconscious on the steps. Darcy's heart wrenched terribly at the sight of Loki staring down at his father so helplessly. He looked like a child faced with the body of their first dead companion animal, distraught and without any means to undo what had happened or what would surely happen next. Tears had swollen the trickster's eyes yet again though this time not out of the sorrow and anger of his heritage revealed, this bore the burden of his present shattered to pieces and he blamed his outburst entirely for it. "Guards!" he suddenly shouted, withdrawing his hand from his father and trembling all the more. "Guards, please, help!"

In a flash, the doors behind the stairs opened and a team of no less than four royal guards, in grand golden armor and ornate helmets, came racing in. They set down their mandatory weaponry and began to lift their king into their arms carefully shouting for someone to go and retrieve the queen. Just as quickly as Loki had called for them, the guards left, the king in tow and the queen on her way to join him wherever they were taking him. The doors closed loudly behind them and Loki simply stood on the stairs, left behind by the immediate response and with no one to see to him at all. Darcy scowled for a beat at the door. Why hadn't any of the guards told him to follow them? He was the prince; he should have been called to be at his father's side at once. Loki could have easily followed, but he was clearly overcome and needed to be told to follow. Why had no one thought to tell him what to do to aid his king, his father?

After a few moments of simply standing and breathing heavily, Loki turned and headed back to the pedestal holding what the two had referred to as 'the casket'. Darcy watched as his face twisted in more than rage. He gathered speed and, as he made it to the pedestal, balled one hand into a fist and then hurled his forearm into the side of the casket, sending it to the floor with a loud 'crash' as he screamed in rage. The scream lasted for what could have easily been ten minutes as Loki slowly knelt and leaned against the pedestal. The scream gave way to a loud, howling wail. He pulled both hands to his face and wept bitterly, uncontrollably. His entire body shuddered with the sobs and moans.

Darcy suddenly felt overcome as well. She hurried forward, not caring a bit if he could hear and see her or not. She knelt behind him and wrapped her arms tightly around what she could of him, pressing her head into him and allowing tears of her own to fall. This might not have excused in any right what he had done on earth, but it proved one thing more; there were others that had to answer for his actions as well. "I'm sorry," she whispered, pulling him to her more tightly despite the trembling and violent shuddering. "I'm so sorry." As she held tightly onto his back, arms wrapped around his chest beneath her arms, she suddenly felt one of his hands reach down and, still trembling and stained with tears, grasp hers. A small measure of relief filled her at realizing at least in this vision he could feel the comfort she offered. He had been alone, utterly alone when it had happened to begin with, but for now he was not. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder-blade and sighed. "I don't know who's got you captive right now, who had you trying to get that cube and who was threatening you, but you're not just a prisoner now. You've been a prisoner of war all your life. I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."

As the two knelt on the floor, the room shifted and Darcy felt the cold return. They were kneeling in one of the halls of the library again and there was an open book in front of them. Darcy scooted more beside him and watched as the pages began to turn themselves hurriedly in one direction and then the other. In the haze of turning paper, visions started to play as if the pages turning formed some sort of cosmic television. Darcy watched as Loki saw to his father and mother. His father had fallen into a deeper and uncertain form of 'Odinsleep' or a restorative form of hibernation that his magic and strength required. In the meantime, Loki's mother had given him kingship, asserting that with Thor banished that the line of succession fell to him. She saw the four warriors that had arrived in New Mexico come and demand that Thor's banishment be ended. Loki had denied it, reminding them that the All-Father had given the command and that it would not be right, for the good of Asgard, to undo it. He was right of course and, although it didn't seem fair, it was the law. She saw the false alliance with Laufey, the betrayal made by Heimdall in allowing the four warriors to leave and try to retrieve Thor, five more acts of treason. They clearly thought they were doing something noble, but from what Darcy had seen, Loki was not a tyrannical king and he had planned to destroy the king of the frost giants, not make any attack on his own kingdom. She saw him slay the frost giant Laufey, his biological father and attempted murderer, in the king's bedchamber as Thor returned. She saw the battle and the breaking of the bridge. As the bridge shattered, so did Loki's life on Asgard and she watched in dread as he slipped from the end of the king's staff in Thor's hand and fell into the abyss below him. She gasped and pulled one of his arms closer to her.

"That was, you were, all of you . . ." she muttered, trying not to simply fly into an outburst from this volatile cocktail mixing in her heart and mind. "All of that betrayal, the lies, all of you hurt each other but they . . . they didn't have to come after Thor. He wasn't in any danger and your father was going to wake up eventually . . ." she realized aloud. "But you killed your own father."

"I had to," Loki whispered. "Odin would have loved me, he would have finally seen me as a worthy child if Thor hadn't returned and ruined everything," he snarled. "I did nothing wrong. I broke no law, I repaid that race of monsters for what they did to Asgard, to me!"

"But if you hadn't sent that thing . . ." she continued.

"I was king! They committed high treason, they wanted me DEAD!" he shouted. "And my brother, their precious Prince of Thunder, he wanted no less as well."

"Hold on, those other guys, and that messed up excuse for a father for either of you might have wanted that, but Thor never said anything bad about you while he was with us," Darcy corrected. "He might be angry now, but he never hated you, he never wanted you dead!"

"You cannot possibly see his intentions, not from without," Loki corrected. "I know his heart, I know his desires, I was raised alongside him as his plaything."

Darcy realized she wasn't going to win this argument, not here, not while he had the upperhand. This was his mind and he was vastly more influential, powerful, and, as was the case in waking hours, he could not possibly be wrong. She knew she could discover something else, though. She knew she could uncover the truth about the real enemy. She frowned and looked up at him solemnly. "They're not the only ones that want you dead, are they?" she said softly. He looked at her in confusion. "You lost your war, you don't have the cube. Whoever was threatening you is going to come after you aren't they?"

A look of pure terror crossed Loki's features. Darcy felt the floor beneath them begin to shift and tremble more violently than any earthquake. She shrieked and reached out, taking hold of the trickster who tightly wrapped his arms about her as well. The floor began to crumble, enormous chunks of frozen marble falling away and leaving behind starry be speckled sky instead. The shelves of books collapsed and fell into space, the version of space that they now stood in. There were massive rocks, not quite moons, planets, or meteors, but simply chunks of rocks hovering in a cluster where the trickster's athenaeum had once stood. He seemed frozen in fear now as he clung to her. She had reminded him of something he had hoped to not face again, not ever even in victory.

"Failure!" a loud, thunderous voice shouted. Darcy was sure she felt Loki shrink several inches at the sound and she herself felt as though she had been struck by lightning at the exclamation. After a moment, Darcy noted that Loki ceased trembling and slowly stood more uprightly, more proudly, and willed his grand golden armor, horned helmet and flowing green cape included, to form around him. He turned to Darcy and stared at her emotionlessly.

"You wish to see who offered me the Chitauri, who truly sought the Tesseract?" he asked. She nodded, but a feeling of dread moved through her that was precisely reminiscent of looking at the very edge of her own 'dark place'. Was this his? He reached a hand out towards her. "This is my mind, remember that and do not be afraid of what might befall you in his presence no matter what pain he inflicts."

"What?!" Darcy exclaimed. She tried to pull her hand away, but found his grip too tight at the moment and her body oddly compelled to continue moving forward. She groaned and her stomach lurched anxiously. "Oh no," she muttered unhappily. "What have I gotten myself into this time?"


	27. The Finite and Frightening

**Chapter 27: The Finite and Frightening**

Although the thought of seeing what Loki had to offer in the way of his real captors, something within Darcy told her that she wouldn't be seeing the full truth. She froze and stayed put even as Loki tried to move forward. He turned back and frowned as she remained still, weighing the cost of going deeper into his mind and allowing him to display images for her that might make her think any differently of him, or worse, of Thor. The two obviously had problems and their father was entirely to blame, but Loki's actions were not entirely justifiable and she did not want to start thinking that they were, not after feeling such a great swell of pity for him. The pity she felt was enough and she vowed inwardly to make Thor promise that he wasn't harmed when they returned home, only chastised verbally. It was clear that Asgard didn't treasure life itself, Odin's actions on Jotunheim must have been present in their upbringing and he saw life as something with which to accomplish something else, a means to a personal end.

"Come, Darcy, time is not completely void in dreams," Loki suddenly ordered.

Instinct took its rightful place in Darcy's mind and urged her, after Loki's warning about pain, to refrain from anything further. She stared back at him defiantly. "No," she said sternly. He snarled angrily and loomed over her. Standing her ground she looked back up at him firmly. "I've seen what I need to. You're not the only one to blame for what happened, but once you're back home it won't matter who had hold of you. Thor will protect you. I won't let you go back unless he promises to protect you."

"Thor has _**never**_ protected me," Loki hissed.

"That's not true; you _**know**_ that's not true!" Darcy countered. "What about what I saw in that rain storm, that memory? He was there once in a while to protect you and comfort you which is a heck of a lot more than some siblings get!"

Loki pulled harshly against her wrist amazed that she was managing to fight him this firmly in his own mind. This made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever. She might've been a strong-spirited mortal, that would explain the incidents in her own mind, but this was his territory, his mind. He should've had complete control here even over her. Why was she eluding him even here? He narrowed his eyes and leaned closer suddenly realizing something unnerving. He had not taken notice of her features entirely in her own mind and now that she was in his he was seeing something odd. Her eyes glowed blue, not their natural green. She blinked and frowned at him. He moved a fraction closer, examining her eyes more carefully. He suddenly grasped either side of her head and willed the magic concealing her eye colour to dissipate. The milky blue tint faded, but a crisp, crystalline blue remained. His features grew pale as he realized that her eyes were a familiar azure hue seen only in the gem at the end of his scepter. He began to breathe sharply at this and she stared back in concern.

"What, what are you?" he whispered.

She stared back in confusion and shoved him away harshly, frightened at realizing he was genuinely confused as to what she was at the moment. Did he doubt that she was a female, a human, alive, or some peculiar combination of any of them? He remained with his gaze affixed on her. "Loki, what are you staring at?" she asked carefully.

"I don't know," he replied slowly, releasing what he had left of her wrist in his hand, stepping away and looking at her as fiercely as if she herself was a source of power equal to the Tesseract. She felt a strange fear move through her coupled with a sense of strength over him if he had some sort of interest in her to this degree. "But I am sure it is nothing that you would outright understand."

"But what, specifically, made you ask that question . . . what are you staring at?!" Darcy demanded more sternly, stepping forward and appearing more bold than before. It felt frightening and fulfilling all at once. Darcy allowed the fulfillment to take precedence for the moment and Loki watched the blue in her eyes electrify.

"Who are your people?" Loki asked, nearly whispering again.

"I'm an American," she replied flatly.

"No, you fool, your bloodline, your ancestors . . . who are your people?" Loki asked, pointing a hand at her accusingly. She stared at him in confusion for a beat. The same impatient expression made its way across his face as it had when demanding to know of the purpose of his 'adoption' from the All-Father. He took a step towards her, slightly infuriated that she did not take a similar step backwards. "Who are your people?!"

"I'm a mutt, I'm like a lot of other white people," she replied in a raise voice. "I'm Heinz 57; I've got German and Dutch and British and Norwegian and Scandinavian and . . ."

"You're Germanic," he interjected. Darcy looked back at him with an odd stare. He smirked. "Oh this is lovely, this is just perfect. I told him some of them had survived, that some of their blood remained in your realm along with the Tesseract. Why if he left Jotuns alive in their own world, why wouldn't there still be some of this power left in yours?"

"What are you talking about?" Darcy said with an irritated sigh.

"The ancients called themselves by a name my father came to fear," he said with a laugh. He moved even closer, staring down harshly at her. "But I will not fear you, no matter what you bear in your bloodline."

"Are you deluded or something?" she asked growing angry. He stared at her continuing to smirk and chuckle every few seconds. She growled and frowned at him. "What . . . do . . . you . . . see?"

"You repel the gem's power, the Tesseract's hold," he said softly. "Because it is already in you." He chuckled again and reached out, touching the side of her face gently. "And what a distraction this will make in Asgard. Executing the law against an ancient enemy will prove most useful for my liberation."

"Fine, if you won't tell me what you see, I'm leaving," she snorted indignantly. She turned and closed her eyes, demanding that she slip free of his mind in an instant. She heard him laughing happily behind her.

"Awaken, then!" he chortled with a delight she hadn't heard in his voice since the night before the attack. "The sooner the better for me, but not, I'm afraid, for you!"

Darcy felt her heart start to race and she shifted uncomfortably, trying to shake her head furiously in her waking form. She squeezed her eyes closed more tightly and felt herself start to lift away from the ground. She drew in a deep breath and felt herself drawn upward sharply. As she opened her eyes and exhaled she saw down onto the collection of floating rock that Loki had led her to and suddenly grew terrified. She gasped, realizing how high she suddenly was and that there was no real explanation for it further than being in a dream, but more importantly she was in his dream and shouldn't have had this sort of freedom or control. She felt herself begin to drop and let out a loud cry. The vision of the rock, the starry sky all around her, the trickster himself and his laughter, suddenly began to spin. Her cry grew louder and she shook herself more violently until everything went black.

(*)

Darcy opened her eyes fully and sat bolt upright, gasping. A blanket had been placed over her and she pulled it around herself more tightly looking beside her. Loki was still fast asleep, or at least he appeared that way. There was a blanket over him as well and Dr. Selvig was gone. In his place, indeed right beside Darcy and Loki instead of the farthest corner, sat Thor watching over the two. He placed a hand gently on Darcy's shoulder soothingly. She breathed heavily and grasped her head in both hands. "Darcy?" he asked softly. "Were you in a bad dream?"

"I, I'm not sure," she muttered, shaking her head.

Thor glanced down at his brother, frowning and sighed. "I had hoped to have more solid evidence to present to my father by now that what you said, what you told the Son of Coul, was true," he said sadly. Darcy sighed and pulled her knees close to her chest, leaning her chin against them. "That he was a prisoner of some darker, greater force than the Tesseract alone. Someone showed him something else, threatened him, they must have."

"Yeah, well that isn't what started it with him, your father was a complete tool," she grumbled. Thor looked at her in confusion. She sighed and shook her head slightly. "He took your brother as an infant, he's been a prisoner of war all this time. He wanted a pawn, someone to control on the throne of those frost giants and he was hoping he could have that with him. That's no reason to adopt someone."

"But I am glad he brought him regardless of the reason," Thor replied, hoping that Loki would in some way hear him. "I could not have survived much of my exploits in battle without his intellect and even his trickery. It is most useful when turned in the right direction."

"Anything can be," Darcy said with a shrug. She looked up at the warrior with concern. "Thor, is there something different about me? Do I look strange to you?"

"Now that you mention it, your eyes are no longer under his spell," he replied with a smile.

"I don't think that's what he was staring at," Darcy said with a sigh. "Not after a few moments."

"How do you mean?" Thor asked. Darcy turned to him and tried to think of how best to explain it all. Her mind was blank for the moment and she simply glanced back and forth between the two brothers in concern.

(*)

Loki slowly forced himself to awaken as Thor sat beside Darcy. She turned as he stirred and groaned, the revelation that he had made in the dream suddenly reforming in his mind. His eyes widened and he pointed towards her accusingly. "Othala! She is an Othala! That is how you forestalled my sway over you, you treacherous serpent!" Loki shouted. Thor's eyes widened in horror as Loki slowly got to his knees still shouting at her. "You descended from that deluge of deceit, you should bow more than all the rest, you should never have been near the Tesseract, you should be _**dead**_!"

Thor suddenly lunged forward and grasped his brother's jaw tightly in one hand and the back of his head with the other. Darcy gasped and remained in place, shocked and overwhelmed by confusion at this. What in the world was an Othala? He had mentioned an ancient race in the dream, but he had never explained it or named them. Thor seemed to react quickly to this. Was it some sort of crime? Was she in some way inhuman? She began to tremble and her head began to ache terribly as Loki struggled with his brother. Thor grunted and shouted to anyone else nearby to help him silence his brother. Stark oblige quickly, revealing that he had taken 'a good ten minutes or so' to create personally something that he felt would be most useful in keeping Loki settled until they returned him home once more. He had used the soldering materials in Roger's garage, recycled metals, and a great deal of skill. He held out a large, metal object that appeared to be a belt of some sort. Thor looked at his new friend in confusion.

"It's a muzzle," he explained, glancing at Loki with a prideful sneer. "I was waiting for an opportunity to make him quiet down in a painful and permanent kind of way. Too bad that First Aid kit doesn't have sutures in it or I'd have sewed his mouth shut by now."

"Give it to me," Thor said firmly. Stark placed it in Thor's hand as he released the back of his brother's head, not letting go of his mouth at all. The noise had roused the attention of everyone else sleeping upstairs and the group had quickly made their way to the basement in case their skills were needed to subdue the trickster again, Banner in the lead. Thor grunted and struggled to put the muzzle fully over his brother's face with one hand.

Stark sighed and reached forward, grasping one half of the oddment then forcing Thor to release the other. He nodded quickly to him and Thor released his brother's mouth long enough for him to shout the words 'traitor' and 'she is an Othala' once more before the muzzle was locked into place. Stark produced another metallic object, or rather set of objects, these being familiar to everyone in the room. They were shackles joined by a strong set of iron chain and Darcy recognized the heavy clunking sound in the shackles themselves to be lead. Banner had reasoned that if radioactivity fueled or was at all a source of power for the Tesseract, then lead would limit or remove Loki's ability to summon any part of it again. Stark had taken that to heart and reinforced a set of manacles, an easy project for him that took less time than the muzzle, with lead lining.

"Now, you finally get to do what everyone's been wanting you to do since you first set foot on our planet," Stark said furiously, glaring at Loki as the trickster glared back hatefully. He recognized the scent and the feel of the lead and knew instantly what its purpose was. "You get to shut up."

"Enough of your insults and harshness towards my brother," Thor snarled, shoving Stark firmly away. Stark brushed himself off immediately and stood, now glaring at Thor with the same angry gaze he had given him on the mountainside. "Your taunting only heightens his plight."

"His plight?" Stark retorted. The others slowly filled the room and Banner, followed closely by Rogers, stepped closest to Thor, ready to intervene at any moment. "He just killed how many people and destroyed more of Manhattan than any terrorist before him? Do you know what we do to terrorists? He's lucky he's not knee-deep in saline with a car battery attached to his . . ."

"Stop it!" Rogers shouted, grabbing Stark by the shoulder. Stark turned to face the captain with a stern expression plastered unyielding on his face. "We have laws about that kind of thing."

"So no one's had the Gitmo talk with you yet, have they? Or maybe they haven't had the 9/11 talk with you, either," Stark shot back. Rogers frowned and looked away for a moment, shoving aside the anger he felt at the mention of both. "We shouldn't be sending him home," Stark continued, glancing back at Loki and then back at Banner for a moment. "Not without another beating."

"I wouldn't have done it if I'd had the choice," Banner replied quickly. "I don't want to hurt people."

"But _**he**_ does," Stark replied, gesturing to Loki and then turned to Thor angrily. "You wanted him to be silenced, but it wasn't because he was annoying you. You looked terrified, Thunderbolt, so what did he say or do that scared you, huh?"

Thor growled and stood over Stark as intimidatingly as he could manage, leaving Loki on the floor shackled and muzzled fully. Darcy frowned and stood up slowly as the two glared hatefully at one another. "It was me, wasn't it?" she said quietly. Thor turned immediately and even Loki shifted himself to glare at her. Stark looked past the Asgardian as Rogers and Banner turned to glance at the girl as well. "He called me something . . . strange. I'm something unnatural, aren't I?"

Thor sighed heavily and moved forward. For whatever reason, the shouting or the sudden struggle, Darcy felt afraid even of the Asgardian she trusted and jumped backwards as he reached for her. He froze and frowned, turning back and giving a heated glance at his brother before reaching for her once more. Darcy allowed him to take her by the arm and begin to lead her up the staircase. "There will be no hiding it now," he said sadly. "I am sure Heimdall has heard my brother's accusation and seen your dealings with him."

"But what did he call me? What's going on?!" Darcy demanded as they reached the center of the living room. The rest of the group followed, satisfied that Loki was subdued enough by the shackles and muzzle together for the moment. Darcy began trembling once again as she saw Thor's expression fall and remorse like she had never seen fill his features. He muttered softly once more that things had been better as they were before he had ever come to Earth. "Thor, what did he call me? What are you so angry about and afraid of?"

"And who is Heim-dahl?" Barton asked with concern.

"He's the gate-keeper, the Sentry and Guardian of Asgard's royal city," Selvig explained, moving forward and looking at Thor with a similar fear. "He sees and hears everything in all the realms that would be important to the king."

"And he will have heard the accusation," Thor continued, He shook his head solemnly and turned back to Darcy. "And it must be true. You withstood more than any mortal might have in his presence and your mind has eluded his grasp as well as the scepter and the power of the Tesseract; those powers were only seen in an Othala and that was centuries ago."

"I, wait, just-just wait," Darcy stammered, holding up both her hands and breathing sharply. "So you're telling me that I'm like reincarnated or something from a person hundreds of years ago that could match him or at least confuse him or something?"

"Not a person, several people, and it was not merely Loki's power that an Othala could withstand. Fully trained and sent to a post they were able to withstand the All-Father's power as well," Thor explained. Darcy's eyes widened all the more as he glanced back towards Selvig. "He thought he had slain them all when they sent one of theirs to pilfer the Tesseract in my father's armory."

"And Odin never found the one who did it, he ordered himself buried near it to protect it," Selvig continued. Darcy stared at the old scientist in shock that he would have known this and not told her. It hadn't yet occurred to her that there would have been no knowing had she not been given the chance to elude Loki's grasp. "There were some descendants, he had six or seven women; the power must have passed through one of their bloodlines."

"Okay, we got part of the history and part of the physiology so these Othalas were like magic-users who had the ability to sort of repel magic instead of use it outright and then they stole from your father so he killed them all?" Darcy asked, her breath growing more labored and quickened by the minute. "What the heck else did they do that made him that angry?"

"Try to imagine a group of Viking-like Druids who learned how to manipulate the minds of others and use elemental magic far beyond what any normal person could because they had acquired certain gems from Odin's treasury, Infinity Gems," Selvig interjected quickly. Darcy locked eyes with him, steadying her breathing as she concentrated on his words. "Each Othala had a specific gift tied to a specific gem; one for time, one for space, one for the elements, one for the cosmos, one for the spirits of creatures, and one for the minds and/or hearts of creatures."

"So they stole all those gems and your father never noticed until the Tesseract was taken?" Darcy asked still confused.

"No, no, no, they didn't steal the gems themselves, they borrowed them one at a time and allowed a particular sect to learn its secrets as best they could," Selvig continued. "No one Othala ever kept their gem, but the ones that followed the blue gem, the gem of the mind and heart," Selvig glanced back towards the basement door. "A lot like the one in his scepter, those men got the idea that they would seize control of the whole Nine Realms; you know, rule over the universe kind of thing."

"And Heimdall saw their plot as they crafted it and informed my father," Thor continued. "Since their destruction and the Tesseract's disappearance, a law was made that sentenced all Othala on Midgard to death."

"He sees and hears all, but he didn't see where the Tesseract was taken or hidden?" Stark scoffed.

Thor turned and sneered at him. "The Othala that bore the power of the Infinity Gem of the Mind and Heart could hide even from Heimdall at a distance," he countered. "But several of our warriors, my father included, killed what ones of them were gathered in their meager temple and thought that the Tesseract had been lost during the battle that ensued. It nearly destroyed your world and the magic used could have ended life on Midgard as you know it. He kept Heimdall's gaze on your realm for centuries until he gave up, having more important things to tend to, though he never rescinded the law."

"But that was a long, long time ago," Darcy argued with a nervous laugh and a shrug. "Be-be-be-besides, you have the cube and the glow-stick with the gem to take back home and no one's the wiser!"

"The law still stands, Darcy," Thor said sadly. Darcy's expression fell and she felt her heart sink painfully, beating furiously, into her stomach, churning every part of her gastronomy until she was sure she would pass out. "If you remain on earth, now that Heimdall has seen and knows of you, my father will order you to be killed."

"But you can do something about that, can't you?" Rogers interrupted sternly. "Your brother just got through attacking an entire city full of civilians for a second, maybe third time on this planet and she tried to keep him from doing anything worse. Who knows what he would've been able to do, to hold over you, if she hadn't been in his way. Can't your father make an exception?"

"The law is finite, there is but one solution," Thor replied firmly. Every being in the room seemed to straighten at this and Darcy could see all the eyes of the heroes standing behind Thor turn to him and begin to radiate with the same disdain they harbored for his brother. Darcy swallowed hard and continued to stare at the Asgardian pleadingly now. Thor turned back to her and frowned. "You cannot stay on Midgard."


	28. Mortal Limitations

**Chapter 28: Mortal Limitations**

"Forget this," Stark suddenly announced more under his breath than aloud, but still loud enough for all to hear. He hurried forward and stood defensively in front of Darcy, glaring at Thor. Thor stared back in confusion and Darcy remained perfectly still. "Rogers get him and the little green rat out of here, now."

"I am not trying to harm her, Man of Iron," Thor argued.

Stark raised himself an inch more and stood less than an inch from the warrior angrily as the others moved even closer except Banner and Selvig who stood nearest the basement door. "I mean it, Rogers, get him, get both of them, out of here now," Stark said more loudly than before and with greater strength in his tone. The two stared formidably at one another their intents equal not merely in purpose but in strength as well, though the means were significantly different in their own minds. After a few beats of strained silence and no cooperation, Stark looked past Thor and sneered angrily at the rest of his comrades for the moment. "Fine," he hissed and turned quickly, grasping Darcy by the arm and hurrying towards the door. Thor growled and hurried to block their path. Stark kept a steely gaze fixed on Thor's. "Either I leave with her or you leave with your brother, which is it going to be?"

"You cannot escape what my father has decreed," Thor warned in a low tone.

"Why not? You sure did and now you want your brother to go home free and clear of anything _**we**_ have decreed," Stark replied furiously. He felt Darcy pull free of him for a moment. He turned and glanced back at Rogers for a beat who sighed and stepped forward, wanting to avoid any further damage through a confrontation, but sadly not seeing another way to protect Darcy for the moment. There was nothing that made Rogers trust any family that could produce two children like Thor and Loki even if one was adopted; especially if one was adopted. He stopped a few inches from Darcy and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Get her out of the room . . . now."

"Go upstairs, Miss Lewis," Rogers said softly, pulling her backwards and nodding to Selvig at the same time. Darcy silently did as he had said. The scientist nodded and followed Darcy after whispering a 'come on' and putting an arm around her with a more comforting 'it's gonna be alright'. Rogers sighed heavily and looked at Thor with resignation. "Now what? You expect us to send a Citizen of the United States of America who was held prisoner by a terrorist back to his home country to face what exactly?"

"If you try to evade Asgard's Law it will end poorly for . . ." Thor began.

"For more victims of the senseless brutality than your brother could've had?" Natasha suddenly interjected. Thor turned to her in shock. She glared at him angrily, nostrils flaring at remembering the foul word Loki had used in reference to her. There was clearly something wrong with a world that still used that word let alone allowed it to be instilled in a prince. "But in the name of justice this time."

"This is not my doing and I will not allow harm to come to her," Thor argued.

"Like you got Loki to reveal the whereabouts of the Tesseract?" Banner added.

Thor turned to him, a measure of uncontrollable rage welling within him at this kind of mistrust. "My first priority was to ensure that he spent energy healing whatever fever he had caused in her because your skills and the skills of your physicians were entirely insufficient," Thor shot back. "And then I was preoccupied with your bickering."

"Our bickering? That's absolutely adorable coming from Ivan the Terrible and his not so better, but oh so bitter, younger brother," Stark replied. Thor glanced over his shoulder at him; sure that turning to face him would mean a need to engage in combat, not something he wanted to do at the moment. "You go down there, get your little trouble-maker, and get ready to go home."

"Whoa, whoa, doesn't he need the Tesseract to go home?" Barton interjected.

"I know where it is and I can drive them out to a remote location," Stark offered.

"Wait, Barton's right, Selvig said he needed to make sure using it again wouldn't create problems for people in the area," Rogers realized aloud. "Thor, I think it's best you stay down in the basement with your brother until we can figure this out."

A chorus of 'what is there to figure out' (which came from Stark) along with 'the decision to take her with me is the wisest and safest for all' (which came only from Thor) was accompanied by an undertone of 'yeah, wisdom is really a concern and a major export from a planet with his kind of crazy' (which came from Banner who had moved even closer to the three men arguing most loudly) resounded through the living and reached Darcy's ears as she sat down on the only bed upstairs in the guest room with Selvig beside her. He placed an arm around her as she put both hands over her ears and began to sob.

The noise reached Loki who had been waiting for the opportunity to hear where the idiots had placed the Tesseract, but had been denied it when Rogers had interrupted Stark. He growled and reached up, pulling at the muzzle that had been completely locked in place, as the arguing grew louder. Behind the arguing he heard the sobs, the attempts at comforting, and Darcy's decision to call for someone else to handle Thor. Loki snarled and looked up towards the door at the top of the staircase, willing his senses to wait patiently behind the door. To his dismay, the part of him that still feared Thanos was reignited after the dream and he feared that much more than Odin's wrath. He needed to leave Midgard and with leverage, as quickly as possible. If he could not deliver the Tesseract to him, surely someone with Darcy's potential would do just as well. He leaned back carefully against the floor. It struck him that what he had planned for the selfless human was the most cruel and despicable thing he had ever done and it was made all the more cruel by the suffering she was now enduring both at the thought of execution and in trying to compute the last few days. He closed his eyes and tried to speak into her mind a pseudo apology without actually apologizing but found it shut tightly against the outside world. His brow furrowed in anxiousness at realizing for the first time on Midgard, he was truly alone.

Barton moved closer to the door, hearing the strange sounds behind them where Loki grunted in frustration and struggled with what had been placed on him. Barton considered opening the door, slipping down the stairs, and firing an arrow straight into the trickster's legs just above each knee and then retrieve both arrows and head silently back up the stairs with no one truly able to hear the trickster's screams above the arguing and beyond the doors themselves. He shook it away realizing that this was just asking for more trouble and would create unnecessary tension, although what had happened to New York, to S.H.I.E.L.D., to Germany, to himself and Selvig, and especially to the girl were all punishments worthy of long, dehumanizing torture. He breathed deeply and reminded himself sharply of what he had said to Natasha as she had come to grips with what she had done and tried to cope with guilt for the first time in her life. "The guilt, the second guessing, the sadness we feel for the awful things we do, we don't focus on it but we never lose it. It's what keeps us from being just as bad, doing things that are just as sadistic, as the enemy does." He contemplated the notion of going down and just landing one, only one, solid blow into the side of the trickster's skull when suddenly his digital communicator began to sound off and show a faint blue light indicating a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was trying to contact him, a very familiar one. His heart leapt and his mouth went dry as he picked up the communicator and turned to the rest of the arguing crowd. "Hey!" he finally shouted at the top of his lungs, a surprising volume and depth that no one, not even Thor, had expected. Barton stared harshly at them as the device sounded more loudly but the group remained silent. He lifted the device and pressed a small button allowing the communication to follow through. "This is Agent Barton."

"I know who it is, and why isn't anyone else in range?" Coulson's voice asked quietly. Barton's heart beat more furiously and an inescapable expression of relief and joy spread across his features, drawing Natasha closer. "Where are you?"

"Our position is classified right now," Barton replied with a sarcastic tone and a happy laugh.

"Classified? By who?" Coulson's voice replied in nearly a whisper. "Just tell me where you are. I managed to get this away from one of the medics and I'm not sure how long I have to stow on board a transport before I pass out again."

"You're losing consciousness at random intervals and looking to stow away on a jet?" Barton continued. Natasha gave him a stern look, demanding to know if what she was hearing was real or not. "And everyone is within range, of me at least. They've turned their equipment off and I'm about to do the same."

"No, no, no, no, no, don't do that, don't turn anything off yet," Coulson pleaded. "Just tell me that everyone is alright, tell me I can stop promising God things he's going to hold over me that I won't be able to come through on."

"Relax, Coulson," Barton said, nodding to everyone else in the room who either breathed a sigh of relief, swelled with tears of joy, or did both. "Everyone's alive and accounted for, even the green goblin, so stop bothering 'big guns' upstairs, alright? Let Him help you help Him help you. Go back and get some rest, I'll update you on my whereabouts and activities on an as-needed basis."

"Barton, when I asked about everyone I meant . . ." Coulson continued as the sound of several other official voices began to mingle with the background demanding to know what the recovering agent was doing awake and ambulatory while his heart was trying to compensate for a temporary valve. "What about the girl, is she still . . . I mean, he didn't . . ."

"No, but he tried. Everyone's here," Barton replied quickly as the voices grew louder. "Goodnight, Coulson," he said with resignation and hurriedly cut off the flow of electricity within the device. Sighing and setting it back into a pocket. "Looks like everyone on our team came out alright after all."

"Does he sound stabilized?" Natasha asked quickly.

"Yeah, he's stabilized," Barton replied with a sigh. "So how are we going to solve this?"

"Thor will stay in the basement with his brother," Rogers interjected quickly. The group turned to him in a slight measure of surprise. He straightened himself, remembering the power that he held in the heat of battle and how effectively he had organized the team before. He looked at the rest firmly. "Stark and I will take the first shift from now until 03:00 and then Barton and Banner will take the next shift until 09:00 and then we'll work out getting everyone where they need to be."

"You really think that just because his older brother's watching over him, and let's not forget that he tried to kill us both with his hammer," Stark began.

"That is in the past, we have shared combat together since then," Thor countered.

"Hey, this is not open to negotiation," Rogers added sternly, more sternly than he could ever remember speaking in his life thus far. "Now if you're going to spend the night in my apartment, then you're going to do as I say."

"Alright, but if we all of a sudden find ourselves in the middle of a pile of rubble with both the Green Meanie and Darcy missing," Stark continued, clearly unhappy with the situation but too tired and confused to stand his ground any further. Besides, he knew he had the backing of the rest of the team in keeping the girl safe and that Coulson was still alive which made things seem a little less difficult. "Then we'll know exactly . . ."

"What the heck happened?!" a new voice suddenly exclaimed. Thor seemed to recognize the voice instantly and whirled around to face none other than Jane Foster, looking none too pleased with what she was seeing after having to use a kit to get hurriedly into the dwelling after Darcy's latest message a mere few seconds before. Jane had raced to the scene in Manhattan, learning that Selvig had already been there, but the message from Darcy had sparked fears and anger that were already kindled in the scientist's mind and instead of the happy expression Thor had expected to see in his beloved when seeing her now, he saw contempt and ferocity. "She-she wasn't making that up, you really are here," she added. She huffed and turned away for a moment. "And you were going to leave tomorrow, just up and leave and not say anything to me."

"Jane, allow me to explain what has transpired since last we . . ." Thor began, growing increasingly aggravated at the defiance and disappointments he was having to face during this visit.

"We? There is no 'we', Thor, not anymore; you can kiss that whole notion goodbye," Jane said angrily moving past him. She turned and sneered at Stark. "I'm not even going to start to point out how much of a letch you are, Tony Stark," she continued. Stark seemed to smirk as if remembering something faintly from a few years prior which was fitting given the chance encounter the two had during a symposium. Thor turned and noted the look following her words, his features contorting with greater anger. Jane turned instead to Rogers and sighed heavily. "Where are they?"

"How did you get . . ." Rogers started to ask anxiously.

Jane growled a little and threw the lock-pick at him. "Where is Darcy? Where is Dr. Selvig?" she asked again, firmly.

"Upstairs," Rogers replied, stepping cautiously out of the way as Jane stormed past him. He looked around at the other members of the group as they began to disperse to more appropriate positions for the rest of the night. He glanced down at the lock-pick for a moment as Thor cut off his glare at Stark and headed to the entrance to the basement. "This is a criminal's tool," Rogers muttered to himself as Thor firmly grasped the handle. Stark noted tears forming in the Asgardian's eyes as he flung open the door and moved quickly down the stairs, slamming the door behind him which took a great deal of control for his massive strength. Still, its sound was alarming and caused many of the group still present to jump whether they were prepared to hear it or not. Rogers frowned and turned to Stark for a moment. "What's his problem?"

"I think his brother might've just cost him his human girlfriend, which is a shame, too because Jane Foster is a class act. I mean if I wasn't in semi-committed, somewhat professional, entirely appropriate relationship with Pepper, that is exactly how I would spend my down-time," Stark replied.

"I got from what she said that you two have already had some down-time," Natasha shot back as she settled down on the largest sofa. "That is what you do best, sir."

"Actually, she refused me," Stark said with a broad grin. "In the most pleasant way possible."

"Meaning?" Rogers asked in confusion.

"She didn't punch him in the chest," Banner answered quickly.

"That and so much more," Stark said with a heavy sigh. "Everyone else get some sleep. Keep an ear out for the heat and anything from the basement. It's going to be a very long night."

"That's an understatement," Rogers said, putting the lock-pick down and exhaling heavily as he sat down in front of the basement door next to Stark. "This is really not fair for anyone involved."

"Well, we do thrive on Jeffersonian Democracy, so why don't we put it to a vote what happens next?" Stark offered.

"The only vote that matters is hers," Rogers replied, nodding up towards the stairs. "And something tells me she's giving all the angles a lot of thought right now."

(*)

In the basement, Loki watched Thor silently settle into a corner, sitting and cupping his brow in one hand. It bothered the trickster that his brother had been sent to keep a watch of sorts over him; hearing the commotion from upstairs and Rogers' command he also knew that this was a miniature form of exile for the warrior, an exile from the rest of the group that he had come to admire over the past few hours. He had most recently heard from above that he had more painfully been exiled from the human woman's presence. Perhaps that was more bothersome to him, but it served him right for having to deal with someone's unexpected and somewhat unwarranted anger after he had left Loki to do that for centuries. The trickster smirked under the muzzle, glad not only to be in a similar predicament and watching his older brother suffer nearly a fraction of what he had, but also to no longer be alone and cast aside down here. His expression changed fully and his brow furrowed as the darkness of night drew on, accompanied by an unfamiliar and disheartening sound: Thor sobbing pitifully.


	29. Immortal Potential and Boundaries

**Chapter 29: Immortal Potential and Boundaries**

"So he's demanding that you go back where he came from with his brother, who just killed who knows how many people here, and face execution?!" Jane demanded. "For what?!"

"I have some kind of weird power, something to do with that blue gem in his staff or something," Darcy sniffed, finally done sobbing uncontrollably for a few moments. "I wish I had never touched that stupid cube."

"Hey, you saved who knows how many people by getting into that facility and keeping an eye on the little monster," Jane countered.

"He's not a monster!" Darcy suddenly exclaimed. Both Jane and Selvig

stared at her in disbelief for a moment. She sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair, gripping the scalp beneath her palms pensively. "He's got someone bigger, someone nastier making him do all of this and no one wants to listen to me and find out who it is."

"He hasn't exactly been forthcoming in that kind of information to being with, Darcy," Erik offered as well. Jane groaned and rubbed her forehead anxiously. "We can't stay here if we're going to leave quietly. We have to go now."

"No," Darcy said firmly. The two turned to her in disbelief. She sniffed heavily and then straightened herself as she came to a sudden and stern realization. She held power. She held something that Thor's father obviously feared or hated and that made her valuable to some degree, something she had never been before. "I'm going to sleep on this."

"Darcy, come on, you don't have time to sleep on this. If you wake up and Thor and his ugly little brother are still down there then you're as good as gone!" Jane argued.

Darcy frowned at her. "I know what I'm doing, Jane, and I need to think about a few more things first," she said. She turned to stare firmly at Dr. Selvig. "This kind of magic, this power, it's really old right? I have to think about what could happen to our world, too. I have to think about a lot of things."

"Fine, just try and come up with something before sunrise," Jane interjected moving back to kneel in front of Darcy. She took both the girl's hands and breathed deeply. "Darcy, I know I get annoyed with you sometimes, but you're a good friend . . . I can't just stand by and let something like this happen to you no matter what he promises." Jane squeezed Darcy's hands and fought away tears as she looked deeply into who she now realized was her only friend's eyes. "You-you called me first for help. I know you trusted me then, Darcy, I really don't think you should go back with them."

Darcy smiled affectionately and leaned closer to Jane, glad for the first time that the desired friendship she had long wanted with her colleague was finally coming to fruition. It was under the worst of circumstances, but then Darcy reminded herself that most deep friendships started or at least faced early on these sorts of tight situations. Most human relationships didn't hinge upon keeping a friend from being taken back to another world to face the judgement of a being that might or might not be friendly with a war criminal who had already decimated a good part of the city. Luckily, there had been only single-digit casualties reported thus far, but that was far too many in anyone's opinion. Darcy squeezed her friend's hands and looked back at Selvig.

"Look, I'm just going to sleep on this, alright? I don't want to go back, but I have to think about the means and a lot of other things carefully," she said with a resolute sigh.

Selvig frowned and looked at Jane for approval. Jane nodded slowly and released her friend's hands. "Okay," she said softly, putting a hand on Darcy's shoulder comfortingly. "If you need anything, Dr. Selvig will be right next door in whoever the heck owns this apartment's room and I'll be in the basement," she explained. Selvig gave Jane a strange look at the last comment as she took hold of the door handle. "I still need to have it out with that block head."

"You know it wasn't as if he could take a few seconds out of dealing with his creepy, dangerous brother to just hop over and see you. He did make sure that the facility made sure you were safe if that helps," Darcy called after her. Jane halted a moment and glanced back at her friend with a slight grin. "He was worried about you, you know, it's just a lot of stuff, and I mean a whole lot, got in his way."

Jane left the room quietly and Selvig stood, smiling and shaking his head. "Always the diplomat or the peacemaker," he said with a measure of admiration. "Even if you are annoying from time to time, you never did enjoy a confrontation."

"It's not like he deliberately ignored her or anything," Darcy said with a shrug as she pulled her legs onto the bed. Selvig smiled and walked over to her, placing a hand more comfortingly than Jane on her shoulder, patting her affectionately. Darcy sighed and adjusted her glasses. "What would you do?"

"I'm not the right person to ask, Darcy," Selvig replied with a wink. She stared back at him in confusion. "I'm a scientist; I always go for an opportunity to learn and go somewhere new. But then, my life isn't at stake and I don't have magical powers to protect me."

Darcy's mind began to buzz at those words as Selvig slowly left the room. Darcy groaned and hopped off the bed, turning off the light and leaning against the wall for a moment. She was a, a, a, an Othala or whatever he had said. Did that mean she could protect herself from Odin if he tried to kill her? Did that mean that she could join the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the other heroes afterwards? Her heart skipped a beat happily at the thought of saving the world before bedtime. Her heart then sank a little at realizing something significant. She had no idea how to utilize these powers. For that matter, she didn't know how to begin to explain or even start to control them. She groaned and sat back down on the bed, hanging her head in her hands as she pulled her legs back onto the bed.

"Of course you don't, child; you only just recognized them as the Tesseract awakened," a familiar voice said in her head. Darcy stopped sobbing a little and froze. "There were a few back during the time of the Great War that showed their powers again, but never truly harnessed them since they had no teachers. They wore certain insignia, you know. Ask your Captain America about the symbol of the Othala; it was given exclusively to native Germans in the hopes that they would prove to have powers that their Fuhrer wanted so that he would have a truly superior race."

"You've been watching the 'earth' channel for a few decades, haven't you?" Darcy muttered unhappily out loud. "And you haven't done anything positive for us the whole time."

"For your information, I kept certain creatures, very unsavory, from destroying your world with my brother as well as giving companionship to a certain few magical creatures here on earth who have wanted to see your race destroyed for centuries," Loki replied. Darcy rolled her eyes and huffed. "You may scoff at it, but it's no small matter keeping an angry elf company when he won't leave his pet cave troll behind."

"Whatever," Darcy muttered. "I'm just never going to escape you being in my head doing absolutely nothing whatsoever, am I?"

"Perhaps," Loki said slowly. "Or perhaps I might offer you something a little more enticing given that I know for a fact you've set your mind on going back to Asgard to protect your new friends."

"So you can read parts of my mind but you can't control it and that's what's really pissing you off?" she grumbled, hugging her own shoulders.

"Darcy, my dear, I am not at all angry with you even in this horrid situation I find myself in. I'm uncomfortable, dizzy, and quite cold," he said. Darcy shook her head. "But I could offer you something no one else could."

"Oh really, what's that?" Darcy snorted.

"Let us take this conversation to somewhere more intimate, my dear," Loki offered tenderly. Darcy recognized the tenderness as being only somewhat put on, but the rest of it seemed genuine and that he was truly remorseful for causing her grief after she had shown him any measure of pity and matched wits with him. "Lie back and try to sleep, little one, and I shall make you an offer in your dreams."

"Yeah, you try sleeping after a day full of . . ." Darcy began. A loud knocking suddenly came from the door and she jumped. "What?! I mean, who is it?"

"It's Dr. Banner, I have something for you," he explained from behind the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Darcy sighed flopping both arms to her sides. "If it's not people in my head it's people coming in person to interrupt my thoughts."

"Not to be rude, but there isn't much to interrupt at the moment," Loki chided with a snicker. "You've only been thinking of one thing."

"Get lost for a minute," she hissed under her breath.

Banner held a steaming cup of fluid in one hand and grasped a sedative capsule in the other hand. "I thought you could use this tonight," he said. "It's just alprazolam, not even a whole milligram and this is valerian-catnip-chamomile tea."

"Thanks," Darcy said with a heavy sigh, accepting the small blue tablet and the cup. She breathed in the sweet, pungent steam, grimacing at first and then letting the chamomile's odor take precedence. "You didn't put anything weird in here right? Like some kind of Indian herb or a tiger testicle or something?"

"I wouldn't do that even if I lived in India and got paid to do it," he said with a laugh. Darcy swallowed the tablet and glanced at the tea as she breathed in the steam with relish. "I know the valerian doesn't smell the best and the catnip can be a little off-putting, but they're really good at helping people calm down."

"I'm calm already!" Darcy exclaimed in frustration. Banner lifted a brow at her, folding his arms. She sighed and shook her head, sipping the tea and breathing softly. "I'm sorry, Doctor Banner, this isn't your fault," she apologized as she downed the brew. "But the al-al-al-pramazoloft was Mr. Stark's idea, wasn't it?"

"Actually the alprazolam Is the most common drug used for anxiety and I knew you weren't allergic to him if you didn't have a terrible reaction to the injection Stark gave you," Banner explained. "But he did ask me to slip a nip of vodka in the tea, which I didn't."

"Thanks for all of it," she said, smoothing a lock of hair away, finishing the tea, and nodding to the man. "You're a good person."

"Yeah well, even after everything I saw from Mr. Nasty down there," Banner said, taking the empty cup from her. "I think we're all good people. Some of us do some really bad things, but a truly bad person is very rare." Darcy nodded and rubbed her shoulders pensively. "Try and get some sleep, you're going to need it more than any of us."

"Like I have a choice," she muttered as Banner left the room, turning off the light. Darcy undressed to her essentials only and slipped under the covers of the gust bed, resting her head on the soft pillow gratefully. She closed her eyes and situated herself comfortably on the bed, waiting for Loki's voice to call to her yet again. To her surprise, she didn't hear a thing for several minutes. She groaned as she began to feel tired. "Really? You're going to shut up now?"

"I wanted to wait until you were comfortable," Loki replied. His voice sounded as though he were standing right beside her bed. Darcy sat bolt upright suddenly noticing that she was back in the stone room where she had been lying with the fever raging within her. It was still very warm and now it was illuminated by four skylights around the room with a full moon overhead. Loki was, indeed standing next to her. "You know, I could teach you how to use those gifts if you are truly an Othala."

"You mean you're doubting it?!" Darcy exclaimed angrily, standing and glaring at him. She suddenly noticed that she was clad in a beautiful Sari in tones of purples and violets, trimmed with silver a few silvery coins on the edge of the hem of where her pants met her midsection creating a faint tinkling of bells as she moved. She was barefoot otherwise. He was clad similarly, back to looking like the prime example of his own strength as he had appeared in her dream in Agribah. Instead of a purple vest and fez, he had a green tunic trimmed with gold and a golden headband encrusted with emeralds, making his eyes sparkle all the more brilliant green. She folded her arms. "You mean to tell me that you doubt that this whole fiasco is even an issue?"

Loki chuckled. "Well, you bear gifts of the mind and spirit, but the only way to tell if you're an Othala or not is to let you have access to the Infinity Jewels. I can do that and I can teach you how to strengthen your mind and control its unique qualities the same way my tutors taught me," he offered. He winked. "It's only right."

"Nothing's ever right with you, you jerk," Darcy said unhappily. She looked around the room. It was more colourful with tapestries and courtiers dressed in Indian, not Arabic, attire as well. She frowned. "What's in it for you?"

"Well, firstly there's a distraction created which ensures my freedom, and secondly having to take you to the places where I hid the jewels will keep my brother from finding me, my father's too drained of power as it is," Loki continued, not wanting to mention bargaining with her for his freedom from Thanos. "Then there's the grand idea of being a teacher itself. There is something to be said for being the one that purveys knowledge, is there not? Besides, after my freedom is ensured and you are fully trained, there won't be a creature in the galaxy that could attack your planet efficiently with the kind of power you'll wield."

"You really mean that?" Darcy asked with a small measure of distrust but a greater measure of excitement. "All we have to do is distract things at your home, keep your father from killing me or something, get away, get all those little jewels that Dr. Selvig said controlled the universe which obviously aren't in your father's treasury anymore like so many other things . . . idiot."

"Yes, and you come back more capable than any other creature on the planet provided I still find out the very true nature of why I couldn't control you," he continued. Darcy stared at him in confusion. He sighed. "Even as an Othala, you would've been under part of the gem's control; there's another part of you keeping m from control and I've seen only a part of it." He moved closer to her and glared down into her eyes. "I want to see the rest of it, Darcy, to see every part of the darkness within you."

Darcy glared back at him. "I don't want to go to that dark place and you don't want to go there, either," she said in nearly a growl. "Nothing good can come of it."

"Oh no?" he countered. Even if I cannot control you, it would make it easiest and most powerful to utilize your gifts without such a place standing in the way. Loki thought about how much better it would have been to gotten her into the dark place, weakening her and frightening her before handing her over to Thanos fully. It would have to be systematic as he caused the gifts in her mind to grow. She would be powerful, yes, but not above the Titan himself. Even Loki hadn't been able to escape Thanos. The best lie came to him and he smiled. "With the darkness conquered, you would not have anything to keep you from doing what is needed instantly. You'd never hesitate to do the right. Imagine, no fear in the face of certain danger."

Darcy thought about this for a moment. She had seen Odin in Loki's memories and he had been willing to kidnap and lie to an infant and his own son as well, taunting the birthright between them that should've obviously been Thor's all along. She shifted uncomfortably, the silk cloth lying over her body so wonderfully. Once she had been taught how to use her gifts, she could do just as much as, even maybe more than Loki. Maybe she could start teaching herself a few things, too. Of course, Loki was to be trusted less than Odin, but at least Darcy knew that the curiosity in the one single failure that haunted him, her deterrence of the scepter and being able to catch him off guard, not to mention being denied her dignity, ensured that he still needed her. He wouldn't allow himself to be had by anyone, least of all a female mortal. She sighed and nodded.

"Alright, I go back with you, we go on trial or whatever, make a distraction, get away, go to the gems you've got stashed around all over the place for God only knows what reason," she said. "And then I get to learn to use my powers, I go home, and you pick a new place to pick on after you make sure whatever it was that was bullying you is gone."

"Oh, I don't think the creatures that sought the Tesseract will remain near earth if they think that humans were strong enough to defend it from their Chitauri," Loki replied with a laugh. There was somewhat of a nervous tone to it, but he hid it well. Darcy nodded. He held out his soft, almost bronzed from exercise in the sunlight, muscular, and enticing hand towards her. "Do we have an accord, Miss Lewis, you and I?" She hesitated. He raised one brow, deciding it best to use layman's terms. "Do we have a deal?"

Darcy thought about this. Distracting the man that might have her executed for a bit, going on the run with the only creature that had ever managed to actually be on the run from that all-seeing gate-keeper, finding gems of power like some sort of Middle Earth quest for unity, and then having her powers, whatever they were, strong enough to protect her entire world from harm like Loki or Thanos. She grinned. Really it was the least cowardly, the most logical, and the most fun option so far. Besides, like Selvig had said; even though she was a political science major, the opportunity to travel through the univers with the God of Mischief was a once in a hundred lifetimes deal. She couldn't say no to this. She gently reached out and touched his hand, grasping it gently.

"Deal," Darcy said, shaking his hand and grinning brightly. Suddenly, the other courtiers in the room began to be more audible; their laughter and indisdinct conversations growing louder. Loki glanced around the strange room in admiration. It was not unlike the well decorated rooms in Asgard itself, though the motif was decidedly eastern with a few 'Midgardian' touches to it. Music, lovely music that began soft and sensual with the sitar and the timbrels and only one drum, slowly began to build. Loki turned and noticed a broad grin on Darcy's face. He frowned as she began to sway to the music and the drums' rhthym began to grow more and more enticing while the other courtiers now began to sway as well. "I told you this would happen."

"Told me what would happen exactly?" Loki demanded, angry that he was feeling this at ease and out of control with the music and beauty around him. Darcy moved past him, swaying and beginning to dance as the courtiers organized and began to dance as well usin silk scarves and folded hands as props between specific and splendid movements. "What in the world is happening?"

"You're kidding, right?" Darcy asked with a laugh. "I mention a Bollywood musical number and you don't bother to try and find out what it was at all? Wow, you need to start Googling everything!"

"And in the meantime what, what then?" Loki demanded. Darcy laughed and began to dance a little more freely, joined by the other dancers,

"_Like a bulrush in the rainstorm I trembled when you said 'kneel'_," Darcy sang as she whirled around and placed both palms against one another, quickly kneeling and swaying her head rhythmically from side to side as her hips began to move.

Loki smiled and gestured to either side, understanding in an instant what this was and how he was supposed to respond. "_You have hidden much in manners rare for mortals to conceal_," he sang in reply. "_My heart yearns for all the secrets that you keep,_"

Darcy leapt to her feet and gently, swiftly, placed the tips of her well-polished fingers against either side of his pale cheek. "_My heart desires your image every time I fall asleep,_" she sang with a lovely wink.

The two looked at one another as other dancers, male and female, in attire that Darcy recognized in colour and Sari style to be typical Bollywood performers, joined them. The two looked into one another's eyes. "_Desires we have are in the heart and mind, so let us find a lotus garden beyond space and time_." they sang in unison.

Darcy released his hands and stepped backwards, dancing smoothly as she moved, sweeping her arms in a lovely, serpentine fashion as she remained a few paces away, still dancing as though she had been raised in an art school at the heart of New Delhi. "_Like a tiger stalks her prey I followed every move you made_," she said with a coquettish lean forward to him and extending a hand.

Loki swiftly took her hand and twirled with her, pressing her back up against his belly and chest as they both moved in their continued fluid dance. "_Like a desert flower cunning drifts from every plan you've played_," he sang, purring into her ear. He was unsure what was prompting this and it was entirely out of character for him as a general rule, but he liked it: the spontaneity, the sensuality, and the gorgeous music.

"_Desires we have are in the heart and mind_," the two sang, suddenly turning, facing one another, grasping hands and looking into the other's eyes with utter delight at this break from such a bleak waking reality. The two then turned and faced the same direction along with all the other dancers, one hand in a straight line over their brows in a gesture that implied they were looking carefully for something as they continued to dance. "_So let us find a lotus garden beyond space and time_."

"_I will guard my mind until my heart is truly yours_," Darcy sang as she pranced a few paces away from him, palms still pressed one against another with their pinnacle practically dividing the great divide in her chest.

Loki leapt high into the air, twirling as he landed in front of her and stood, taking her elbows in both hands. "_I'll fill with knowledge like the rain until my soul with joy pours_," he sang.

Darcy giggled and blushed as the two felt the chorus begin. "_Heart and mind_," she sang.

"_Space and time_," Loki replied in song.

The two intertwined their hands between them and grinned brightly as they looked up at one another and finished the next part of the chorus, "_Jewels of infinity are what we will acquire_."

"_Heart and mind_," Darcy sang once more.

"_Space and time_," Loki replied, grinning most brightly. "_Jewels of infinity or maybe maid and sire_."

"_Is it longing to govern my kind or curiosity_," she sang with a playful wink, twirling slowly, raising one arm and turning it in the same rhythm of her hips as she moved. "_Is it really kingship or slave-queen that you seek_?"

Loki suddenly appeared behind her, taking both her arms and pressing her firmly, almost painfully against him as he looked down at her firmly. "_Dominion over your race will never reach its peak_," he sang almost angrily. He then gently ran his fingers through her dark tresses and pulled the long, dark braid over her shoulder, stroking the flowers plaited into it. He smiled. "_Til your heart and mind like lilies blossom showing all I need_."

"_I see into your eyes, a slave to royal things_," Darcy sang, bowing low and backing away until he released her hands and watched her, joined by the dancers, continuing in their graceful pageantry as she finished the verse, gesturing from one side to another as oddly, each object appeared. "_A throne, a crown, a scepter, and the love of kings_." With the last line a silhouette of a Raja and a princess embracing and kissing appeared.

'_**Eureka! Perfect!'**_ Loki thought inwardly. All he had to do was keep a façade of some sort of tenderness and she would melt like butter in the heat around them now. He appeared behind her and, gathering energy, changed his garb to that of a well-armed Indian Prince in a large turban. "_I see your desires for a hero and a master_," he sang. The costume disappeared and he slowly became the visage of himself in the casual attire she had most admired in their dreams together. "_Forsake the fervor for the first, and I'll be all you ask for_."

They turned and faced one another, the dancers forming a prancing circle with a beautiful array of silken cloths and silks, forming a Mandala of music and motion as the two sang. "_Desires we have are in the heart and mind_," they sang sweetly. "_So let us find a lotus garden beyond space and time_."

"_I_ _will guard my mind until my heart is truly yours_," Darcy sang in the sweetest melody he could ever remember having heard.

"_I'll fill with knowledge like the rain until my soul with joy pours_," he replied sweetly.

They twirled and clutched one another's hands as the dancers moved effortlessly around them. "_Heart and mind_," Darcy sang.

"_Space and time_," Loki replied, leaning closer.

"_Jewels of infinity are what we will acquire_," they finished in unison.

"Heart and mind," Darcy sang once more with a breathy voice, her heart rapidly dancing and keeping the Asian rhythm, growing with Indian heat and Asgardian desire.

"_Space and time_," Loki replied leaning all the closer as their movements ceased and the dancers continued. His charm was taking its pleasant toll and he noted the look of adulation on Darcy's features. This would be perfect. "_Jewels of infinity or maybe maid and sire_."

With that, the two kissed passionately and the dancers froze in a grand flourish with fireworks and a shower of flower petals suddenly falling from nowhere around them. The perfumed aura of the petals, the balmy warmth of the landscape, and the amber hue of the setting sun were absolutely perfect. Loki deepened the kiss, pressed a hand up under her shoulder beside her bosom with thumb positioned just high enough to be appropriate and the rest low enough to leave desire in the waking hours. Darcy sighed inwardly as the music, perfume, and warmth of both the land and the prince soothed her into a deeper sleep and readied her to wake, resolved to learn more than tricks and seek far more than jewels, training, or even the answers to her dark place. She wanted to learn more about him.


	30. Goodnight, Goodbye

_(((It's taken weeks to get this out to all of you with school and family matters, but it is worth it to be able to escape into this project as the promise for the trailer of Thor 2 gets closer. This is really therapeutic and everyone's input is really appreciated, especially the questions and suggestions a lot of you have sent! Enjoy, the next chapter will be out tomorrow once the fine tuning is done!)))_

**Chapter 30: Goodnight, Goodbye**

As the night drew on, Thor watched his brother pensively and thought about how best to approach Jane as well as what he needed to do for Darcy. There were very few options and he wasn't sure how his father would want him to proceed. He sighed heavily and leaned back against the wall, hearing some of the others conversing upstairs. Loki awoke twice, glancing sadly over at his brother who, when he would notice the trickster's opened green eyes would glare back at him angrily, accusingly. Without any words actually spoken, the younger felt completely chastised by the older. Loki finally turned away; a difficult task with his hands bound and still fighting the effects of the injections Banner had administered at the start of the night. Thor shook his head and continued trying to solve the social Rubik's Cube that was preventing a happier situation with Jane. "The Othala was clearly the more sensible of the two," Loki thought as loudly as he could in his brother's direction. He had only spoken inwardly to his brother on five occasions, but Thor knew that Loki was capable of it and recognized the sound and feeling immediately. "Why in this wretched realm did you choose the other?"

"Darcy seemed too kind and young to approach so boldly," Thor replied sadly, leaving out the crucial detail that Darcy's handling of her weapon had been another factor. "You would have had more than the fear of imprisonment to face had any other harm come to her."

"At their hands? I should think not. She was all but dejected among them before I stepped in," Loki replied indignantly. "I gave her purpose and a chance to prove her indispensability to them. She should thank me."

"She was almost killed at your hands, she owes you no such gratitude," Thor replied angrily. Loki frowned and grew silent. "You have no right to demand gratitude from anyone you harm."

"Remember that logic when you expect anything else from me, brother," the trickster hissed back.

(*)

Darcy waited silently in the room as the sun rose. She sighed heavily and rubbed her shoulders. She went over the chronology of events that had led her here and furrowed her brow in concentration. First, there was everything that had transpired in Puente Antigua and then being shipped off to assist Jane then Dr. Selvig at the NASA centre. Loki had arrived and she had tried to protect the Tesseract itself which led to her capture and the first failure to enslave her . . . violently. She wasn't entirely sure where she had been in the tunnels if it was truly Germany or someplace else (the latter being more likely given his propensity for showmanship and deceit) when he had not only tormented her but had also proven to be a captive of another before displaying to her more fascination than cruelty on at least two occasions. Then there was helicarrier, the fever, and the subsequent dream accompanying it. The escape from the helicarrier had led to Stark Tower and only one night's worth of imprisonment under him followed shortly by the 'war' he had so desperately wanted. Now, with his capture and this ludicrous revelation of her alleged powers, it all came down to this night and the impending dawn.

"How am I supposed to protect myself and be sure he'll keep his word? I am so screwed no matter what I do," she whined, pulling her legs up to her chest and beginning to sob. "I stay here and still have to deal with what's happened and probably will end up in hiding for the rest of my life. I go back with them and there's no telling what kind of insanity I'll have to put up with if I'm not executed by the gene pool that gave us Loki the Wonder Wimp."

"A rather unfair observation given the fact that you've seen my potential in part firsthand," a voice from within her mind scoffed. "Don't ever forget that you knelt . . . twice."

"You know everyone hates you right now, don't you?" she quipped back angrily.

"Right now? I was led to believe it was an ongoing state of existence for the general masses at least in Asgard," he replied, trying to sound unhurt and aloof to the remark.

"Whatever," Darcy muttered unhappily. "How do I know I can trust you to keep me from getting the short end of your father's rules for whatever it is I am?"

"Well for starters there's the notion that you and I have both recently been in the same situation, with another's plan looming over us, that is," he said with an audible grin. "Then there is also the weapon you keep, or have tried to keep, at your side."

Darcy perked up as she suddenly felt a hard, plastic object appear in her pocket. She gasped and fumbled with the cloth for a moment as she retrieved her taser, trembling as she looked at it again. "I guess if it worked on your brother and it worked on you, it could work to protect me from anyone else," she reasoned. "I think your brother would probably soil himself if he ever saw this again."

"Not something I'd expect from him unless it involved a horde of Norns and an enchanted chalice," Loki replied with a laugh. "But it shouldn't take me long to ferry us away from Asgard after returning, if that is what concerns you."

"If? What the heck do you mean if? Everything about this worries me!" she exclaimed angrily. "How would you feel being ripped away from the only home you've ever known and thrown into a violent situation with someone you know had already killed lots of your own race?!"

"The way I do now seems appropriate," Loki replied casually. Darcy frowned as she recalled what both Thor and Loki had told her of his past. She groaned and leaned back against the wall. "Think about it like this. If you stay here you have not merely Odin's wrath to think about, but also the backlash from any number of organizations who discover you at any time had access to the Tesseract. At least on Asgard you'll have only one shriveled, angry, old man to deal with."

"Wow, that's a truly original way to express paternal rage," Darcy muttered. She glanced out the window, noting that a small amount of light had begun to filter in. "Can you just leave me alone for another few minutes? I'd like to think for a little while."

"You don't have the luxury of time, Darcy," Loki reminded carefully. "You have less than a few hours before your team comes to get you and you'll have to make the decision."

"Fine, I've already made my decision anyways, now go away," she growled. She heard familiar chuckling as the voice faded and growled angrily. She huffed and leapt off the bed, needing a positive presence before the day progressed any further. She hurried down the stairs and glanced around to see if Jane was still present. To her relief Jane was speaking quietly with Agent Romanov and it seemed that either Thor had already prepared to leave or was still watching over his brother in the basement. She slipped down the stairs quickly and silently, observing the sleepless team as the anxiously awaited full daylight. All eyes turned to her as she appeared at the base of the stairs.

"I've come to a decision," she stated clearly and hurriedly. "I'll watch them leave, but I'm staying here."

The team seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief; all except Agent Barton who appeared to scoff at her words. Rogers stirred from his position beside the door and looked towards the stairs where Darcy stood, inwardly wondering cursing the fact that he had been slightly wounded and was, for the first time since being revived, feeling truly exhausted. She moved closer to the group that seemed to gather closer together save the two still posted at the door, clearing her throat and folding her hands together anxiously. She had never been very good at concealing things, but now it seemed even more difficult given the impending danger being at the mercy of a being that had recently terrorized and interested her in ways that she was still trying to process.

"Alright, let's go," Stark said firmly and gestured towards the door. "I'll take you somewhere safe until the heat blows over and you, Selvig, and what's her name can all hunker down there."

"Uh, actually, I need to see them leave," she said nervously, her eyes darting away from Stark's as he stared at her in confusion with eyes that felt more penetrating than Loki's at the moment. She began gesturing anxiously with both hands as she spoke, subconsciously trying to distract the crowd from her words. "It's, uh, sort of a closure type thing I guess, but I need to see it actually happen."

"I don't think that'll be necessary and I don't think anyone here thinks it's necessary, either, so let's . . ." Stark began again.

"Hey, this is about me," Darcy interjected angrily, growing irritated that her falsehood wasn't being taken seriously enough to even be considered a lie by her own standards. The outburst made a few choice members jump. She looked around at each face, feeling smaller than ever and more helpless. In truth, she wanted to scream desperately at them to take her to somewhere safe, somewhere secret, somewhere that the trickster would never know or think to look for her and she could wipe the memory of his voice and captivating eyes away forever. She wanted to follow Stark wherever he offered and hide behind Selvig for a hundred years which she now wished she had done back at the facility to begin with. She shuddered a little at the thought of what was to come, but the louder voice in her mind told her it would be more prudent to do as Thor asked and follow through with what Loki had offered until she had satisfied whatever bizarre curiosity he had with her and whatever morbid fascination she had with him. "And I need to see them go."

Stark sighed heavily and turned to the rest for support, but was met with silence instead. He frowned and shook his head. "Alright," he sighed, looking back at her and nodding. "Alright, we'll take them to a corner of Central Park where they can leave quickly with no one overhead really seeing what's going on."

"Thank you," she forced out slowly and sadly. She looked at each pair of eyes with strengthening resolve, but heavy sorrow as well. This was not what she had envisioned being the end to this situation in the least. Even the thought of having to kneel again seemed less intimidating than this. She cleared her throat, thinking about how to mitigate the notion of her lie to the group with the safer of the two Asgardians on Earth. "Now, I'd kind of like to talk to Thor alone about it . . . for a minute . . . outside."

"Sure," Rogers offered before anyone could say anything else. "It's best if he hears it from you." She nodded quickly as Rogers turned and grasped the cellar door handle and headed down the stairs. Barton frowned and watched her carefully, wondering what he could do to repair a circumstance he felt more than partially responsible for. Darcy stood awkwardly, silently, averting her gaze from the group as Rogers appeared once more with Thor a few paces behind him. "You two just go outside for a moment, stay out of sight, and talk this out."

"Come, Darcy," Thor offered solemnly, the effects of two sleepless nights, his brother returned from the dead and brought back to him as a villain, and now this ordeal weighing more on him than the burden of the throne to come. He gently grasped her hand as he passed her, feeling a relief in her returned grasp not only in being accepted by another creature after such horrors, but to feel more powerful and completely in control for at least a fleeting second.

"Five minutes, tops, both of you," Stark added firmly.

"Ten, I'm taking as much time as I need," Darcy shot back over her shoulder.

"Fine, ten, and then someone's coming out to get you," he added as the front door closed behind the two. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he looked back at the rest of the team. Natasha and Banner both shook their heads and turned away. "What?" he asked innocently. "Someone has to be managing this; she's in more danger than anyone and we are literally the only people that can help."

"We were all lucky to be in one place, but we aren't equipped for anything more," Natasha corrected quickly. "Neither is the enemy for now."

"I don't think we know who the enemy really is," Rogers added, remembering what Coulson, Darcy, and his instincts had told him. "But I don't think we need to search for them."

"I still think we should get her some place safe before they go back to a galaxy far, far away," Stark muttered with a slight tone of irritation.

"And I think the past few hours should've taught everyone that when it comes to the two of them or any of us, we shouldn't stand in each other's way once our mind is made up about something," Barton said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing something familiar. He nodded to himself and then looked back at the others. "She's got information we don't have and experience, too."

"As a hostage," Stark pointed out. He frowned and turned back to the cellar door where Barton still stood poised. "And she's not free until they're both gone."

(*)

"Deceit is not the answer, Darcy, you should tell them," Thor said with a frown. She looked away, sighing. "They will understand your decision."

"Not all of them," she corrected. She shifted uncomfortably as they stood carefully positioned beside the stoop outside. "Look, there's something else in me that didn't react to him and there might be something that, well, is reacting to him," she admitted, glancing up at Thor. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"You both fear and have indifference towards him?" he asked.

She groaned. "No, I'm not afraid of him, not just him; maybe whatever's got a hold of him, but not him," she replied. Though she didn't hear it, she knew that if the trickster could reply at the moment she would've heard some combination of the words 'foolish', 'mortal', and possibly 'female' in his voice. "Thor, I don't think he needs to be held responsible for all of this, not all of it. I mean, he's kind of being threatened by someone else, and maybe I got to know what that's like."

"Yes, at his hands, and that alone should be addressed without the mention of the lives taken and the destruction to this city," he replied, wanting to add an unfair blame for Jane's anger to the list of accusations against his brother. "Not to worry. My father is wise and has been anxious to see my brother returned. I do not think harm will come to him as long as he is returned to Asgard."

"And what about me?" she asked, not looking up this time. "What do you think will happen to me?"

"In truth I do not know," Thor said quickly, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "But I know what I would do to protect you." She thought about his words for a moment and then nodded. He hadn't assured her that his father would be understanding and kind, but that assurance had been made of sorts regarding Loki. That was enough to make her calm about the decision. When she had explained her plan to leave with the two at the last possible moment while assuring the others she would stay he had been concerned, but this seemed to be the only solution at the moment. She quickly and wordlessly wrapped her arms around what she could of him, feeling a sense of comfort in his promise to watch over her. "Perhaps in return," he said as he put an arm around her. "You might tell me how to win back Jane."

"She's just unsettled right now. I think she's angrier that Dr. Selvig let S.H.I.E.L.D. lie to her and she doesn't want to take it out on him or anyone else in the team," she offered. "But I did pick up on some things that might help you."

He chuckled and patted her shoulder affectionately. "Then we are bound in a promise to aid one another," he said proudly.

Darcy nodded and felt her entire limbic system grow numb as they headed back into the apartment. The moments that followed were surreal and she even found herself either not hearing things, or hearing echoes as the team gathered up what they needed and headed out to Central Park. She remembered Agent Barton taking her off to the side for a moment and speaking quietly, but her senses were dulled somehow. She could hear his voice and knew where she was, even took hold of something he had handed her and slipped it in her pocket, but nothing else registered. She wondered if this was being done to her or if this was a human instinct, a defense mechanism. She didn't hear the trickster's voice confirming or correcting her, so she had to assume that this was instinct, an internal flight response in lieu of fighting something she could not hope to win. As the group stood around the brothers, watching intently as they grasped either end of a gold-handled glass encasement that held the Tesseract, all attention seemed to be blissfully shifted off of her for the time being. The cube began to glow more brightly as Loki gripped his end firmly and glanced towards her. She drew in a deep breath and raced forward, clutching Thor's free hand and looking back at the astounded seven heroes still standing.

"I'm sorry. I lied, but you'd never let me handle this if you thought I had decided to do it myself," she said, gazing directly at Selvig and Jane as she spoke. Thor quickly turned his half of the oddment and before another word could be exchanged, a blinding blue light and a terrifying rush of cold air met Darcy as she flew upwards.

The numbness faded into an adrenaline high as she catapulted through the atmosphere, through time and space itself; still grasping what she could only assume was Thor's arm as they hurtled forward. When the cold and sudden motion stopped, a loud crash met her ears and she instantly covered them, stumbling backwards a pace. Thor caught her by the arm quickly and allowed her to adjust to the trip for a few seconds. She breathed heavily, the rush fading into her veins as new sensations began to crowd her senses. She wished madly that she would go numb again for a few moments with this confusing torrent. She suddenly felt another hand on her shoulder for a beat and an inexplicable calm moved through her. She shook herself and watched as the hand withdrew back to the side of its owner . . . the trickster. He stood still chained and muzzled, gazing forward with a strange sense of relief and apprehension at the golden city that rose over them. This would be a task far more difficult than any either of them had faced before.


	31. Home at Least

**Chapter 31: Home At Least**

Darcy would've felt overwhelmed had she not been aware and keen on the presence of the other two at her side. Thor carefully kept his brother opposite his former prisoner and kept Darcy protectively out of the reach of her former captor. He led the way, as calmly yet quickly and as silently yet informatively as possible. Darcy found herself suddenly brought to a question every few steps and every third question found the strength and presence to speak it aloud, hoping she didn't sound to childish and naïve to be in a realm of immortals. She watched the strange skyline and massive gold buildings carefully as they moved.

"So, how exactly is this going to work? I mean, where do I go? Do I just stay with you?" Darcy asked in concern. She felt Thor's grip on her arm tighten comfortingly.

"Stay beside me until quarters are prepared for you. My father will want to speak with all of us before passing any judgment on the morrow," he explained. Darcy glanced up at him in concern. "Not that you need be as concerned about what sort of judgment will be passed," he added, glancing down angrily at his brother. "But nevertheless you should be prepared."

"Being prepared kind of means either facing a situation before or reading something from someone whose been in the situation before," she muttered. "That's not happening."

"Flexible, then," Thor corrected.

The three remained otherwise silent as they reached the steps of the palace. Darcy turned a shade paler and felt her stomach lurch at the sight of the stalwart palace guards standing at the top of the stairs with their weapons gleaming. They were by no means as large and impressive as Thor, but they were larger and more intimidating than anything she had seen this close on earth and their armor only added to the potential ferocity she could see in them. She simply shifted her weight as the moved up the stairway and into the palace, feeling her bones and muscles buckling every so often under trembling joints. As the massive doors to the palace opened, she reminded herself that if the being she was about to meet were anything between the two extremes of the brothers, then she had very little to fear. _Just another royal family_, she told herself. _They're all a little strange, protocol means being a little austere and standoffish, and someone had to teach them how to be tender so either the mom or the dad is going to be easy enough to get along with. It's just a matter of finding out which_.

She kept her gaze focused on Thor's face and her eyes widened as his expression seemed to shift to complete surprise. As she turned back to face forward, she suddenly saw the form of a tall, regal, fair-haired woman. Her features were clearly close enough to Thor's to be his mother, but she seemed young enough to have been a much older sister in some respect. She started straight for the younger and clasped either side of his face, staring in shock at the muzzle. She turned to face Thor, the surprise not fading. He frowned and opened his mouth to explain, though never formed words. Frigga's hand collided harshly with the side of his face and he remained turned away both at the force and the emotion behind it.

"What did you do to him?" she demanded furiously. "Take this travesty off of him at once!"

"Mother, I . . ." Thor began again. She turned her gaze to him angrily and he remained silent. He sighed heavily and reached out, quickly undoing the clasp on the muzzle before turning back to his mother. Frigga glared down at the shackles and simply added the words 'all of it' which prompted Thor to release them as well. He took a step away, looking more than chastened and as if this had not been the first time he had been blamed and punished for something Loki had done.

"My baby," Frigga whispered over and over, embracing Loki tightly and kissing his face repeatedly. "You're home, you're safe now." Darcy noted that he did not return the embrace for the first few moments, but slowly, gently relaxed into her affection after a few beats, a single tear streaming from one eye and then the other. "Your father and I have been worried sick about you. Do you have any idea how terrified I've been every night I wasn't mourning for you?! Don't ever leave this realm without telling me first again, do you hear me?!"

"Yes, mother," Loki replied simply.

She sighed heavily and pulled him into a tighter embrace, willing both of them to kneel as it seemed she either became overwhelmed with emotion or succumbed to some sort of exhaustion. She pulled his head tightly against her shoulder and cradled him as if he were still a very small boy that had simply gotten lost. "My baby . . ."

"Mother, I too have returned," Thor interjected. Darcy stepped back a pace as the obvious queen of the realm and clear matriarch of the family rose slowly, releasing her younger son, glaring angrily at the older as she stood. She moved a pace towards him and she could've sworn she saw the mightiest creature she had ever known shrink a few inches more at his mother's wrath. _So Loki is momma's little angel_, she realized. _Thor must be daddy's little man_. Frigga stared harshly at her older son and gestured to the younger. "It was necessary to restrain him from harming anyone else on their world."

"Why did you not return the moment you had the Tesseract?" she demanded. He sighed and looked away, ashamed to admit that he had been a little out of sorts and thereby weakened by the situation. "Why did you let them torment him further?!"

"Mother, I couldn't risk travelling with him after what had already happened to him, he was almost completely broken in half," Thor replied defensively.

"And whose fault is that?" she asked in a harsh whisper. The two stared at each other silently as Thor shook his head and looked away in saddened resignation. Frigga had to release what pent-up emotion she was still being forced to harbor after her adopted and younger child had fallen from the edge of their world, turned up alive, and had to be retrieved seeking trouble on an entirely different realm. She suddenly raised her voice, tears finally making their way from her eyes. "He's your brother, Thor! I told you to look after him? Don't I always tell you to look after him?!"

"Mother he. . ." Thor began again.

"Don't try to put the blame on anyone else; this was in your hands. Your father trusted you," Frigga continued ranting.

"If he had truly trusted me, he would've told me the truth to begin with," Thor interjected furiously. The outburst seemed to unsettle more than it seemed to surprise Frigga. Thor sighed. "Loki did not simply find his way to earth he was sent there after . . . something else."

"Well I hope for your sake that's all he found," she replied bitterly.

"Is this how it usually happens?" Darcy asked in as hushed a tone as she could manage.

"Unless father greets us and then I hear from him how mother has . . ." Thor began. Frigga shot a furious glare at him. He sighed and glanced back at Darcy with a smile. "Darcy Lewis, my mother." He gestured towards the queen with relief as the air of familiarity allowed him to feel at ease for the first time in a little under a year. "I think you'll find her more agreeable than father at most times, though I question her reasoning. Still, it has never lead me astray and my own has so I resign myself to her logic."

"Listen to your mother; always smart," Darcy replied.

"Is that . . ." Frigga began, finally noticing Darcy fully. The young mortal felt the queen's attention fully on her. Loki frowned, sensing his mother's question.

"No, mother," he interjected quickly. "Jane is still on earth. This is a different one."

"Pity," Frigga said sigh. "She seems well-mannered and in my experience mortals of scholarly knowledge have a most difficult time with that." Darcy stared at her, unsure of whether or not to take this as an insult or not for the time being. "Though that is hardly the foremost concern your father and I have about your mortal companions."

"Is she saying that they approve of me and not Jane, or vice versa, or something else?" Darcy asked carefully in the same soft tone.

"Even I cannot be sure and I'd rather not clear it up further," Thor replied unhappily, knowing that it had been an attempt by Frigga to smooth over any concerns that she and Odin would have voiced had this been the mortal Thor had told them about. He glanced around anxiously, wanting to get a glimpse of their father quickly.

Loki noted this and inwardly grinned triumphantly. If nothing else, Frigga would not allow Odin to harm her precious ray of sunshine. Frigga comforted the trickster for a moment more as Thor noticed the form of their father waiting in the shadows, watching the display. He must've been trying to make a point with the younger, encouraging him indirectly that he had indeed been missed and was still loved despite the judgment that needed to be passed on him. The queen called for servants to help the younger to his quarters and send for healers at once. Darcy watched in amazement as several servants that seemed to have appeared right out of a well-played Renaissance Fair suddenly descended on the trickster and hurried him away from his mother. At the doorway, he paused and turned back to her for a beat, then turned to glance at Darcy.

"You're in their hands now," he said smoothly. "Good luck."

"I don't think your mother is going to let anything bad happen to him if she gets to stay at his side for very long no matter what your dad says," Darcy observed.

"The king's word is final," a strong, and aged voice announced from behind them. Darcy let out a cry after having been so surprised and unsettled already without an ounce of sleep in over a day. Thor turned fluidly and bowed as Darcy turned and instinctively withdrew her Taser, holding out towards the source of the voice. Thor noted it and his eyes grew wide in horror. He reached out and instantly snatched it away prompting Darcy to scold him with a more angry than surprised, "Hey, that's mine" before swiping at him to get it back. Odin lifted the brow over his good eye at the display, a sign that Thor recognized as being curious and not angered. It was more than likely that the All-Father wondered what made his firstborn so frightened at the sight of so small an object, but then it was also possible that he wondered why Darcy would feel afraid of him. "You have returned in good order, I see," he observed and then gestured towards Darcy. "And in good company."

"Father, this is Darcy Lewis, a friend and ally that has stopped at nothing to help ensure Loki's safe return," Thor said proudly. "As well as my own on more than one occasion."

"So I have heard," Odin said, moving a pace towards them. "Heimdall has told me she still accompanies you."

"Is that a good thing?" Darcy whispered.

Thor glanced back down at her for a moment. "It is benign, if that is what you are asking," he replied.

"Settle her in for the night, I must have words with you at once if your mother is quite content to see to your brother," Odin said with a solemn nod towards his son. Thor bowed his head and nodded once as well. "Good, there are plenty of places for her to rest; join me afterwards."

Before Darcy could ask another question or move, Odin moved out of the room and the doors slammed shut behind him. She frowned and cleared her throat, folding her hands in front of her. "Well, he seems . . . nice," she remarked. He shook his head and placed the Taser back in her hands before firmly, but kindly grasping her shoulder and leading her out of the room towards another hallway. "Wait, what, where are we going?"

"You are going to your own chambers until my father and I are done," Thor replied.

She nodded, feeling more at ease than she had anticipated after seeing how human and normally dysfunctional this family was. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, thinking that perhaps the whole concept had been long worn out in the king's mind and he had either forgotten about his decree after thousands of years or he just didn't care at the moment. Either one would work as long as she didn't have to fear for her life.

"Who says you don't have to fear for your life?" a familiar voice chided. Darcy groaned inwardly, knowing that only she had heard Loki speak and that he was probably right. "You forget, Darcy, even if you somehow manage to avoid my father's wrath, you still have an oath with me," he said. Darcy heard a soft chuckle behind his voice and grew a little irritated at being reminded that she still had to delve into part of herself she didn't want to and a part of him that she was unfortunately sure she truly wanted to see. "Remember, my father's word might be final, but there is still my mother to contend with."


	32. In the Mean Meantime

Chapter 32: In the Mean Meantime

"How is this my fault?!" Barton exclaimed as the rest of the group, even Natasha for the moment, glared at him. "Yeah I knew she was gonna do it, I thought you knew. She had that look."

"That look?" Stark asked angrily. Barton huffed and turned away in exasperation. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. Describe and explain to the rest of us what this distinguishable 'look' she had was and then explain what it was about the whole situation that made you think it was okay, after comprehending this 'look', to let her leave and go off to another dimension with a mass murderer and his questionable steroid-riddled brother?!"

"That's really uncalled for," Pepper muttered, having joined the group, overjoyed that her true love was still alive and well though clearly preoccupied with being irritated at the rest of the group for not being as outraged as he was with Darcy's departure and the role he was sure Barton had played in it.

"Look, all I'm saying is it's over, it was her decision, let's just leave it at that," Barton said defensively.

"Leave it at that? She's not just a gopher anymore, Barton, she's got high security secrets," Dr. Selvig protested. "And if Loki's parents show him an ounce of mercy you know better than any of us how he'll exploit them."

"Better than you, doctor? You were with him longer," Barton shot back.

"Enough," Natasha interjected. She shook her head unhappily and then moved to stand beside him. "He's right, she's gone, and let's not forget that she does have Thor looking after her."

"No one, and I mean no one, has forgotten that, Agent Romanov," Stark added.

"Well there isn't a whole lot anyone can do about it," Natasha replied with a sigh.

Jane, who had been half listening, looked up; still furious with all three abscondees; first Darcy for leaving after promising to stay, then Loki for the whole ordeal, and now Thor for leaving her behind. Oh how she wanted him to feel as miserable and abandoned as she had felt for the past few months, magnified by these circumstances. A light went on in her mind as she thought of a way to both get his attention and instill some sense of abandonment. It hadn't occurred to her yet that, sensibly speaking, she still loved him very deeply and he quite clearly loved her; instead she thought only of how frustrated and desperate she was at the moment. The bridge hadn't been repaired, but he had the means to travel and, if she remembered his and Erik's stories correctly, he still had a means to see what was transpiring through the gate-keeper Heimdall's gaze. She paused before pushing past two of the heroes standing by and suddenly caught Steve Rogers by the arm forcefully. He turned to her in confusion as she reached up and hurriedly grabbed either side of his head and then, without explanation, firmly kissed him, pulling herself as close as she could, pressing her heart fully against his and begging the powers that be that Thor would get a full report about this.

(*)

Thor led Darcy down a set of enormous hallways until they arrived at a large corridor where the enormous Asgardian prince glanced in a large set of doors, sighed in relief and then moved away. Darcy furrowed her brow and peeked in, noticing the sight of Loki and their mother; the trickster was seated on his bed, or what she guessed was his bed, while their mother soothed him and spoke gently with him. She bit her lip and contemplated calling out to the trickster, saying one of several things she now had the opportunity to voice, but he looked different now. His eyes were not glowing and seemed a deeper green, his features were subdued and he seemed much smaller as his mother reached out and pulled his head against her chest, stroking the back of his head tenderly. Darcy realized she had waited far too long when Loki's eyes met hers from this distance and a tear formed in each, trickling down as he gripped his mother's shoulder tightly, still staring at the girl intently. Darcy jumped as a firm hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. An equally large hand clamped down over her mouth as she began to let out a shriek. The hand on her shoulder turned her quickly and then reached past her, closing the door. She breathed heavily as the shock wore off and she realized that Thor had wanted to keep his mother from seeing them.

"He is no longer your concern, Darcy, and you need no longer fear him," Thor said comfortingly as he let go of her mouth and patted her shoulder.

"I'm not afraid of him, I never was," she protested as they began to walk again. Thor smirked and shook his head. "I wasn't!"

"I have no doubt of that now that I fully consider it," he chuckled. "You are surprisingly bold and infinitely more courageous than I believe anyone suspected." He winked down at her as she looked back up at him, straightening her glasses. "Anyone, that is, except me."

"Tasing you once is all it took?" she asked with a smile.

"I feared commanding lightning for weeks after returning because of it," he admitted with a laugh. As they moved down another hallway, Darcy heard the sound of several sets of boots falling heavily and hurriedly on the marble floors. She turned and drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the four warriors, three men and one woman, who had come to Puente Antigua to find Thor before the Destroyer had arrived. The act of treason Loki had described to her, one of them. She frowned a little at the memory she had seen in his mind, it still pained him greatly to have driven the noble Hogun, the valiant Volstagg, and gracious Fandral to the same rage that Sif had for him for different reasons. Thor smiled and seemed to be even more relieved to see his friends as they approached. Sif seemed to notice Darcy as much as her prince and looked quite nonplussed at her presence. Thor moved forward and fully embraced each one in turn as they welcomed him home. Darcy turned away for a moment, trying to take in what she had been contemplating after seeing the treason through a vicarious firsthand account. She shook her head after a few moments of boisterous laughter and the sound of fists hitting armor in brotherly affection filled the hall. "And so we've returned to set the entire kingdom back to its former peace."

"I don't think that's going happen," Sif said unhappily giving a scornful glance towards Darcy. "Loki has turned far against the kingdom and you've chosen an odd companion."

Thor sensed the real tension in Sif's voice and smirked. He turned back to her. "Darcy is not here on pleasure, I'm afraid. She's here to speak with the All-Father about an urgent matter," he explained. Fandral pushed past his friend and smoothed back a lock of hair before stroking his beard musingly.

"This is Darcy, the one that brought you crashing down when you first arrived and allowed the humans to bind you like a common mortal?" he asked, a combination of admiration, amusement, and allure in his voice. "She's a lovely little sprite, isn't she?"

"Please; contain yourself for a few moments, Fandral, she's only just arrived from Midgard," Sif corrected rolling her eyes with irritation. "I'm sure the last thing she needs before speaking with a matter so weighty that it requires the ear of the All-Father is you and your soppy drivel."

"Drivel? Such hostility," Fandral commented, moving a few inches closer to Darcy. As he did, Darcy glanced up at Thor with three silent questions; shouldn't they be getting settled, why hadn't anyone else been told about her if the charge was so serious, and why in the world was the woman so angry at the moment? Fandral gave a bow to Darcy and reached out for her hand. Before she could react, he smoothly brought it to his lips and kissed it so gently that it sent shudders through her. He positively oozed with charm and had enough golden beauty to make it agreeable. She failed to hide her girlish grin and instead bit her lip once more as a full, warm pink spread over her features. "Perhaps, Thor, I could offer my services in getting her settled if you still need to speak to your father."

Thor sighed and thought about this for a moment. He wanted to speak with his father as quickly as possible, but he also wanted Darcy somewhere safe and out of sight which wasn't likely to happen if she was in the care of Fandral. Volstagg smirked at the offer and Hogun gazed at Thor in concern, having been oddly the loudest voice of concern for Loki after discovering that he had survived and landed in the same strange landscape Thor had found at the mercy of S.H.I.E.L.D. Darcy looked back up at Thor for a moment, nodding towards Fandral as if giving her own permission for it. He sighed heavily at last and then gestured towards his charming friend. "Very well, but do not stray from these halls. Once she is settled, and that should be done quickly, meet me in the common hall."

"Of course," Fandral said with a wink, sweeping up to Darcy's side and fluidly taking her hand and draping it over his arm. Darcy felt her head spin and a slight swoon move over her until he placed his other hand over hers. "Come, beautiful Darcy, and I will show where you can be most at peace as our honored guest."

"O-o-okay," Darcy muttered, fidgeting with a lock of hair with her free hand and glancing back at Thor with a hint of concern. He nodded to her and then assured her that he would see to her as soon as he had finished speaking with his father. She turned back to Fandral and gestured for him to lead. He chuckled and began to lead them down the hall further, more gracefully and warmly than even Thor had done.

Sif shook her head. "It never ends with him," she muttered.

"Perhaps it will serve to improve her spirits," Volstagg interjected. "After such an ordeal and being faced with a need to see the All-Father, I am sure any sort of a break in grave melancholia would be a boon."

"I concur," Thor replied, turning and hurrying back towards the throne room. "Wait for me in the common hall until I have finished with my father."

"Wait, Thor, where is Loki? Is he already imprisoned?" Sif asked hurriedly. Thor froze, an uncomfortable cold shooting through his nerves at the mention of his brother being imprisoned. It was likely what he would face after a formal reprimand, but it ached in him to think of his brother suffering so greatly again even if he had done unspeakable things on Midgard. He frowned and turned back to Sif who took a step backwards, gazing at him in concern. "He did return with you, didn't he?"

"He did, and no, he is not," Thor replied as the ache pulled against his heart and in turn his breath, lowering his voice. "He is recovering from wounds inflicted in battle."

"We should see to him," Volstagg said with a similar pained expression.

"Mother is seeing to him for now," Thor corrected. He turned away, hiding a few tears forming as the pain spread more fully into his being. "Go and wait for me in the common hall. I won't be long."

"We will," Hogun interjected as Thor continued towards the throne room. He turned to his other companions and nodded in the direction of the common hall. "The mortal is in danger here," he added. The other two turned and looked at him in shock. "She will face the All-Father the same way Loki will."

"For what?" Volstagg asked as they made their way to the common hall. "What crime could she possibly have committed?"

"It is not what she has done," Hogun explained. Sif stared at him in confusion. "It is what she is."

(*)

"And there, out there and past those gardens are the stables," Fandral said as he pointed out one of the windows. The sun was beginning to set even more quickly. Darcy smiled brightly and nodded, swaying a little as she stood beside him, positively glowing with the joy of a girlish infatuation. "The gardens are the queens', and they are full of exotic blossoms every bit as lovely as you in some of their more pleasant corners."

Darcy let out a small giggle and turned away for a beat. Her liberated inner voice growled and shouted furiously at her. She had just been freed from the grip of an Asgardian that wanted to control her realm and this man was part of the cause of his madness. Besides all that, she didn't even know this man and any chance of romance or a friendship were severely overshadowed by the impending notion of facing the king with the charge of being born an enemy of his decree. She was without hope of returning home for all she knew. Now was not the time to start fawning all over a man, even a gorgeous one, just because he spoke and behaved so delicately. Part of her was rapidly attempting to build a protective wall, trying to put up any kind of safety barrier between herself and anyone in this realm besides Thor. The more desperate part of her thought it was wonderful to be so distracted and kept knocking away the wall with each furtive fantasy that would play in her mind. Fandral continued his description of the palace and grounds that were nearest them as he led them to a guest chamber, the closest one. Darcy barely heard everything that he said, honing in on the most charming quips and the occasional wink. They stood in front of the door as he finished a joke about the size of the palace and the size of the royal family.

"And this is where I leave you to get some rest, perhaps even dream if it is possible for flawless creatures to dream," he remarked, pulling her hand back to his lips and kissing it once more, this time more deeply. Darcy shuddered again and found herself unable to break her gaze with him. Fandral looked down into her eyes and felt overcome for a beat. The moment was long enough to allow a flurry of stardust to sweep across his vision and create a wild, unyielding impulse. Without warning or reason, Fandral suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She gasped inwardly, but was so taken in by his exquisite and unearthly nature that she found herself too pleased to fight him. The part of her that had tried to avoid this screamed furiously and, after a few seconds, won the battle and forced her to pull away, breathing heavily. Fandral noted the discomfort in her gaze and frowned. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend."

"No, no, you didn't, it's just I'm . . ." she stammered. He nodded and took a half step backwards. "I'm just really tired, is all."

"Of course," he said, bowing politely again. "Should you need anything, anything at all, send one of the servants for me. I will not hesitate to render aid."

"Thank you," she said softly before he bid her goodnight. She hurried into the guest chamber and closed the door, leaning against it with her forehead and sighing. "What the heck am I doing?" she whispered.

"Nothing productive," a familiar, icy voice announced from behind her. Darcy snapped back to full alertness and swallowed hard. She felt the trickster's hands grasp either side of her shoulders harshly and whirl her around to face him. He looked more angry and unsettled than she had ever seen, glaring down at her accusingly. "So one must only show you feckless, childish, affection to gain your reciprocity?"

"What?" Darcy asked in genuine confusion.

Loki growled, furious that he had clearly lost his claim on yet another failed part of his plans on Midgard. Darcy stared back with a measure of fear that seemed as grievous as the threat of being muzzled to her. He snarled and hid the expression of giddy excitement he now held at the thought of holding such power over a mortal yet again, more importantly, a mortal his brother cared for. He shifted for a moment and then pulled her upwards harshly, kissing her more deeply and angrily than Fandral. Darcy let out a tiny shriek as a cascade of pleasure mingling with terror washed over her. He squeezed both hands over her shoulders tightly, painfully, and almost seemed to smile at the grunt of discomfort she gave. Darcy trembled inwardly then outwardly, the inner voice now telling her that she deserved this for being so foolish a moment before. She pushed that voice aside, realizing the influence she still held over the trickster. There was only one way to handle him and she had already seen great success with it. She carefully reached both hands upward, grasping his forearms above the elbow gently and pressing forward back into the kiss. His eyes opened for a moment in surprise. A devilish grin spread over his mouth and spilled into the kiss. The game of push and push back between them was ignited yet again. There would be a most interesting night ahead of them and an even more interesting tomorrow.


	33. Falling In

Chapter 33: Falling In

While Jane released her grip on the unwilling and confused Rogers, Loki released his grip on Darcy and looked down sternly into her eyes. "You are never to allow him as near to you as I am now, do you hear me?" he said firmly.

Darcy scoffed. "I hear you, but do _**you**_ hear you? I'm not your wife or your girlfriend, buddy, so just back off," she shot back, shoving him harshly. He growled and advanced as she backed away until her back met the wall and the satisfaction of cornering her filled him. Darcy frowned at him and sighed. "Shouldn't you be in bed or at least with your mother?"

"My mother believes I am asleep," he replied in an unyielding tone. "And it is clear that you cannot be left to your own devices."

"Excuse me? I'm not the one waltzing into other realms and declaring myself supreme ruler!" Darcy protested. "I am really tired and everything wrong with the predicament I find myself in is entirely your fault; so go away and let me get some sleep."

Loki frowned and looked away apprehensively. He sighed, remembering the thoughts and feelings he had managed to retrieve from his father's mind while his mother tended to him. Odin would not be reasoned with on either account and while the thought of Darcy being executed was a little disheartening, she might have been simply one insignificant and irritating mortal, but she also still served as a source of intrigue; the thought of being lashed and then imprisoned was far worse and that was exactly what the old man had in store for the wayward son. Darcy stared back at him in slight concern. "There is no time to rest here, we must go at once."

"Are you kidding? I'm exhausted, I'm not going anywhere right now!" she retorted furiously. He frowned and lifted one brow at her. "Look, I get that you're scared; you should be since you deserve a spanking that will sting for at least one hour per person that you got killed which is like a lot, but I'm not in trouble and I don't think your father is going to have me offed."

The trickster gave her a side glance. "Truly?"

"Ugh! Just go away and let me get some sleep before I lose it!" she said vehemently.

Loki quickly took hold of her by one arm. "Not until you hear exactly what my father thinks of you," he snarled. Before Darcy could protest, the room around them shifted and another blast of chilled air whirled around them. They appeared in the throne room where Darcy had first seen Thor's parents, but they were behind one of the enormous curtains hanging for decoration in a passageway leading to a balcony. Darcy could hear Thor's voice as Loki motioned for her to remain silent.

"And what makes you think that she poses no threat?" Odin demanded.

"Father, I have spent a great deal of time among them and Darcy was one of the first creatures to show me kindness," Thor replied. "She isn't a threat to anyone or anything that isn't harming her."

"Do you remember what I told you of the Othala and what they planned to do to Asgard and the rest of the nine realms? Their slaughter was not my decision alone and it would invite all manner of fear and ridicule from Nidavel to Svartalfheim. Alfyse and Malekith were two of the loudest voices in favor of their destruction to spare the rest of the worlds from their treachery," Odin stated, pacing back and forth anxiously. "No, it is not right to allow her to live, especially here. It would mean our destruction and we have enough fear of that with your brother."

"Loki is not bent on destroying Asgard!" Thor shouted furiously. Loki felt a sharp pain over his heart that dissipated into a dull ache at his brother's words. Thor truly believed that, as much terror as his brother had visited on Midgard and on Thor himself, his brother was not at all evil. The trickster swallowed hard at this, a moment of clarity forming in his mind. It was quickly pushed aside by the scornful and very loud scoff Odin gave in reply.

"Whether or not he sees himself as bent on destroying Asgard, he has done enough to hack away at its moral fiber to deserve death," Odin warned. Loki felt the dull ache give way to a sudden chill at the old man's words. Thor looked at his father with tears starting to collect beneath both eyes and a wounded look on his face. "Now, I have given you a task and I leave it up to you as to how best to complete it. Before your brother is given sentence tomorrow morning that mortal will have been well disposed of humanely. If I were you I would do it while she is asleep and silent as well as unable to render you unconscious a second time."

Thor looked away sadly at his father's words. Darcy stood with her entire consciousness teetering on a knife's point. The older prince's words were hanging in a fatal balance more prominently than any sword and she found herself as anxious as Damocles, watching him shake his head with resignation. "Yes, father," he finally said, clearly disgusted and disheartened by having been given such a task. Still, his father was king and Darcy knew that Thor would do anything his king asked after having been so terribly punished months ago.

It took a few seconds for Darcy to realize that she had collapsed at his words and that she was having an out of body experience in watching him. She suddenly felt the world shift beneath her and everything went dark for a moment. A cool breeze swept across her features and she struggled to open her eyes and center herself wherever she was. When she finally found the strength and presence of mind to open her eyes, she glanced around and sighed with relief. The landscape around her looked and sounded exactly like her neutral ground in the dream world. There were no signs at the moment, but then she still had so much to sort out and she still wasn't sure that what she had just seen was entirely real or some sort of hallucination from exhaustion, terror, and interstellar jet lag. She breathed deeply and sat upright, waiting for the trickster to make himself known. Inevitably, he would make his way into her mind whether he had something important to say or not. She realized that he sat a few inches away and was looking out into the horizon pensively, clearly trying to formulate another part of some sort of scheme. He turned and glanced over at her for a beat.

"Do you still think my father will be as kind and understanding as Thor believes?" he asked bitterly.

"That was real?!" she exclaimed.

He turned and lifted one brow in confusion. "What else would it have been? You saw it with your own eyes."

"I don't know; I was kind of going with the theory that maybe I was seeing things or maybe you had fabricated it," she muttered. She looked over at him and a glare formed in her features. "I still haven't ruled out the second, you know."

"What you choose to believe is not my concern," he replied. "I promised to ensure your safety until you had fine tuned your skills as an Othala and I had learned what it is you are hiding from yourself."

"Yeah, and keeping someone safe is totally what you do," she said sarcastically, standing slowly and sighing. She folded her arms and looked from one side to the other. A few ravens flew by overhead. Darcy frowned at this. She had never had animals just randomly fly past her in a dream. Perhaps this was a manifestation of the fear of her own mortality. After all, ravens were seen as one of the most unpleasant of harbingers. She shook herself and turned back to the trickster, still seated and contemplating silently. "So where do we go from here?"

"I have been able to detect when and where Heimdall's gaze falls. After that display on Midgard and being unable to recover entirely at home, which I think father was counting on, I am still somewhat at a loss for using my magic to its fullest. I cannot transport and shield us from his gaze at the same time right now," he replied, agitated more audibly than ever at this. It was one thing to be weak, but to admit to it even without using those very words was beyond humiliating, particularly in front of a mortal. "I require only a few moments more to gather strength enough to transport us to a grove where I can regain even more of my strength and I can make you stronger as well."

"Right," Darcy said, shaking her head in disbelief. "So what am I supposed to do while you're rebooting?"

"While I'm what?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied. It was starting to weigh heavily on her that she had been detached from any means of socializing or electronic communications for more than 72 hours. She had never been this long without at least her phone and now she didn't even have the option of borrowing someone else's. She groaned and began to walk straight ahead. In the distance the flatlands ended and there was a large cliff rising out of the ground followed by a narrow valley where she could see a range of mountains beginning. She furrowed her brow again. She had never seen mountains in her dreams before. Were these the manifestations of protective barriers she was putting up after being shown she wasn't safe at all in Asgard? She sighed and began moving towards the cliff. There was only one way to break down the barriers or at least understand them. "I'll just take a quick leap of faith while he does whatever it is he needs to do."

Loki glanced up, his train of thought suddenly interrupted by the feeling that Darcy was a good few yards away. He frowned as he saw her simply moving out towards the edge of Asgard's city proper and moving towards the Stone Mountains. What on earth was she doing? He stood and moved a few steps in the same direction, noting that she was keeping an even pace and not stopping at all. He groaned. "Whatever it is you think you'll find, Darcy, I'm sure I could do better explaining it than you could in discovering it," he said loudly. To his dismay she continued moving unfazed by his words. He moved a few steps closer which made little difference with the distance she was putting between them. "Darcy? Darcy, come back this instant!"

"Make me," she shouted over her shoulder. "Still haven't learned that I'm in charge when we're in my head," she muttered. "But at least you've matured a little internally; going to miss the inner child, though." She felt a faint breeze pass over her and wondered if someone in the room where she must've been sleeping had opened a window. Still standing a good distance away, Loki growled furiously and hurried after her. Darcy had managed to get right to the edge of the cliff and looked down. It was a steep drop and she was sure that she heard another set of ravens in the distance. Definitely a reminder of mortality, she confirmed inwardly. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Loki watched in horror as Darcy leapt off the edge. He shouted, terrified, and flew forward as she hurtled towards the bottom of the ravine. The sudden rush of adrenaline snapped something within her. Was this real? She began to let out a scream, but was cut short when she stopped falling. Loki stared down in horror as Darcy felt everything around her go numb.


	34. When and Who

Chapter 34: When and Who

A whirlwind of thoughts and feelings raged through Thor's mind as he stormed out of the throne room and out towards the post where Heimdall stood. The Sentry had sent for Thor mere seconds after Odin had finished giving him the command to do away with Darcy. It still occurred to him that his father was testing him and that he didn't truly want the girl dead, but the sternness in the old man's eye haunted him, reminding him that the king's command was unyielding. Whatever Heimdall had to tell him, it had to have been better than what Odin had decreed. He made his way over to the enormous, gold clad Sentry who stood gazing into the cosmos with his gaze fixed on something no one else could see. Thor stood silently for a moment until Heimdall slowly turned to him.

"You asked me to tell you when your Jane Foster was gazing up at the heavens, waiting for you," Heimdall stated flatly.

Thor sighed and frowned, looking away. "It was a somewhat empty request, Heimdall, you have more important things to see to and my father feels it a waste of time, to . . ."

"She will no longer do so," Heimdall interjected. Thor stared at him in confusion for a beat. Heimdall's expression, which usually remained an unchanging austerity, slightly softened into a twinge of pity for the prince. "Her affections have turned elsewhere."

Thor's eyes widened first in shock and then narrowed in anger while his fists clenched tightly. He should not have left without her a second time. He should not have allowed his duties to keep him from his promise to her, to make things right before he left. "Who is the man that now holds her attention?" Thor asked between clenched teeth. Heimdall hesitated a beat; something that Thor had never seen before. A guttural growl grew into a furious shout from the crowned prince. "_**Who has her love**_?!"

"It is one of the companions you aided on Midgard," Heimdall explained slowly and carefully. Thor snarled and Mjolnir suddenly flew into one of his fists. "The soldier whose life spanned ages past its natural state."

"That duplicitous bilgesnipe!" Thor shouted angrily. His nostrils flared and Heimdall, arguably one of the most powerful creatures on Asgard, took a defensive step backwards for the very first time in his life. "Send me to Midgard . . . NOW!"

"I cannot," Heimdall replied cautiously.

Without warning, Thor angrily took hold of Heimdall by the throat. The prince's unmatched strength suddenly more aware to the Sentry than ever before. Heimdall had never feared for his life; not from Odin, not from Loki even while furious, and certainly not from any other creature, but now he truly feared that Thor might snap his head right from his neck in an instant and it paralyzed him. "Why in all of Yggdrasil not?!"

"Because you are needed elsewhere," Heimdall gasped. Thor lessened his grip and brought the Sentry closer to him, glaring at him with both inquisition and an intensity that rivaled Muspelheim. "Your brother and the mortal you brought with you have found their way to the cliffs near the eastern mountains. The mortal is about to fall to her death and your brother . . ."

Before Heimdall could finish, Thor threw him to the side and aimed Mjolnir upwards. With a loud flash of lightning and a raging scream, Thor bolted into the sky and hurtled towards where Darcy and Loki lie in peril. Heimdall skidded to a halt and slowly climbed back to his feet. He realized that he was trembling and that the sensation was entirely unpleasant. Part of him wanted to report this to Odin out of some sort of desire for retribution or to make sure it never happened again, but a new and more timid part of him thought better of it. Instead, he steadied himself and fixed his gaze out towards the cliffs to watch the scene unfold. He sighed as he watched Thor arrive and realized that he would need to send for the All-Father regardless of his previous assault. He silently summoned Hugin and Mugin once more; the two ravens that had told him where the trickster had managed to hide, or rather, hang for dear life at the edge of a cliff still using what magic he had to shield them from Heimdall's gaze. Hugin and Mugin were Odin's eyes and ears throughout the other Nine Realms so that Heimdall could be unburdened from time to time. There was about to be a great upheaval between the two princes and Thor, not in his right mind whatsoever, was about to do something he would regret.

(*)

Darcy kept her eyes clenched shut as the swoon swiftly passed and consciousness returned. Loki gripped her by her sweater, trying to hold himself steady as he grunted, straining to also pull her upward with the minimal strength he had left from the recovery he was still making. She panted and shuddered anxiously, mouthing silent prayers as she stayed perfectly still, sure that if she moved she would fall into the ravine and end up a mangled heap of bloodied limbs and organic cotton. Loki drew in a sharp breath and looked down, terrified of dropping a new and favorite toy, not to mention the fact that he would lose a bargaining chip with Thanos. He suddenly noticed that there was a good-sized ledge now near Darcy, one that she could easily cling to for a moment as he gathered more strength and got into a better position to pull her back up to the surface.

"Darcy, Darcy open your eyes and look to your right," Loki ordered in strained gasps for breath.

Darcy slowly obliged and noted the ledge, but then closed her eyes again as she caught a natural glimpse at the bottom of the ravine as well. "Alright, I opened them, now what?"

"Did you see that ledge to your right?" he asked, still grunting and fearing that he would lose his grip at any moment. She replied that she had quickly and shifted in his grip as he felt his heart sinking terribly. "Grab hold of it, grasp it now for the sake of all that is!"

"I don't think I can!" Darcy cried, tears streaming down her cheeks and terror gripping her as Loki's grip began to falter. "I'm going to die."

"Of course you are, you're mortal, but you might forestall it a few years longer if you silence your pathetic weeping and grab hold of that ledge!" Loki shouted in frustration. Darcy gathered all her strength and courage, reached out, and with a sharp inhale grabbed for the ledge. To her relief, she had managed to get a solid hold on the ledge and she would be safe for at least a few moments as Loki composed himself. He breathed a huge sigh of relief as he released his hold on her sweater, knowing he would've been able to hold any longer. He sat back on the ground for a moment, breathing heavily and thinking carefully about what to do next. He glanced down at the girl clinging to the ledge. "What had eluded you for any period of time that prompted you to leap uninhibited off a cliff, you fool? No mortal with a desire to live would do something so unimaginably asinine!"

"I thought you'd dragged me back into the creepy dream-world; I didn't know it was a real cliff," Darcy protested.

"Even in a dream, why would you do something so reckless?" Loki grumbled as he made his way back to the edge and situated himself properly to get a good grip on her once more before lifting her back to the surface. "If every moment of your companionship is going to be this riddled with senseless peril then I might as well just plant myself in the courtyard and let my brother use me for target practice."

A large, firm, angry fist formed around Loki's shoulder and hoisted him into the air. The trickster gasped in shock then terror as he dangled from his brother's grasp, facing him with the most fiery expression he had ever seen on him. "That's not a bad idea," Thor snarled. Loki opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced when Thor threw him several yards away. The trickster toppled over and over on the rocky surface, bouncing painfully over a few of the larger rocks until he came to a stop; scraped, bruised, and stunned. "I need some practice before I return to Midgard and deal violently with their captain."

"If you are angered presently with that spangled clown then go and thrash him and leave me to . . ." Loki began. He was about to explain that Darcy needed rescuing in few words, but Thor had no interest in hearing what his brother had been doing and why; in fact it had completely escaped him for the moment that Heimdall had implied that Darcy was near death in this very place. All that mattered was that Jane had apparently found the affection of another which Heimdall had not only revealed but needed not confirm given his years of flawless service and also that his brother had been the very cause of Jane's ire in the first place and he was at this very moment the nearest and easiest target. After all, he still hadn't repaid the little whelp for stabbing him in the gut when being offered a chance to redeem himself.

Thor raised Mjolnir furiously as Loki stared up at him in confusion. Thor was reckless, arrogant, and often dim, but never this violent and certainly never had the mind to use the hammer directly on his brother. Because of this notion, Loki made no effort to move out of the way as Thor brought down Mjolnir firmly, painfully, and loudly onto the trickster's arm. The clap of thunder that rocked the ground itself covered up the initial crack that signified every bone in all parts of the trickster's extremity shattered and the first part of his scream. As the thunder faded the scream became more evident and Loki instinctively grasped his maimed limb with his other arm, curling into a fetal position as pain more brilliant than what the Hulk had created in him shot through his body, radiating from the radius and all its attachments outward.

As the thunder and force of Mjolnir had shaken the ground, Darcy's grip on the ledge shifted and her position compromised. She shrieked at the moment the trickster's arm snapped and scooted backwards, desperately gripping the stone ledge. She cried out, clinging as best she could to the very edge of the rock and calling out for help. She knew Thor had been ordered to execute her, but at the moment it didn't matter who came to her aid as long as they came before she lost her hold entirely. Darcy glanced behind her and saw the depth of the ravine once more. Her heart skipped a beat and another swoon moved through her causing her to relax her necessary grip. Full consciousness returned just as her fingers slipped over the edge and she began to plummet to the jagged grave below. Darcy let out a piercing, terrified scream.

Thor, still standing with Mjolnir raised and ready to break the other arm next, turned and suddenly filled with horror and dread at what was happening. In his rage he had forgotten entirely about Darcy and in his fury he had caused her to lose what safety she apparently had managed to maintain in dangling from the cliff itself. Loki's heart dropped entirely and he forgot his pain for a beat as her scream filled his ears. What had they done?

As Darcy watched the edges of the ground above her grow further away and darker in the distance, she once again heard the awful sound of the ravens cawing. _Fitting_, she thought inwardly as the moments of her fall seemed to be in slow motion, her death mercifully taking a few extra seconds to allow her some last thoughts. _At least they'll hear it when it happens and someone will find what's left of me_. Cold began to surround her more rapidly and she closed her eyes. This was it and there was no fighting it. Suddenly, she heard the strange sound of a horse's whinny and felt herself land harshly on something that was certainly not jagged rock. She felt herself, and whatever was now carrying her, fly upward and then touch the ground. The sound of hoof-steps met her, but it sounded as if there were two horses, eight hooves, not simply the legs of a single horse. Darcy opened her eyes and gasped. She was atop a large gray stallion with eight legs; her ears had not heard something false at all. She looked up at the figure that had caught her and stared at him in confusion.

The two princes, who had heard the familiar neigh of their father's stallion, turned and stared in disbelief at the sight of Sleipnir leaping up from the ravine carrying Darcy and another rider with him. The rider stared harshly at both princes, a certain measure of reproach for both as he carefully dismounted and helped Darcy do the same, keeping hold of her arm firmly, but gently. Loki narrowed his eyes at the rider as Thor spoke, still too shocked and confused to believe what he was seeing.

"Hogun?"


	35. Escape to the Horizon

Chapter 35: Escape to the Horizon

The brothers stared in disbelief for a beat at their friend while Darcy gazed at him uneasily. Thor approached him as Loki suddenly returned to feeling the full effects of the shattered limb once more. Darcy suddenly relived in an odd, natural flash, the memory of what had most recently transpired with the older prince. She felt her blood chill and she instinctively turned to run in the other direction, something she wished she had done in the desert with the Tesseract instead of letting the trickster have at her (she knew now that she didn't try at all hard enough to get away and it was probably something she should seek professional help for if she lived through this ordeal). Hogun frowned further and grabbed hold of her arm above the elbow, holding her in place. Darcy fought with him for a moment, but found his grip as unyielding as his expression. She felt tears beginning to form in her eyes as Thor looked down at her sadly.

"What are you doing here?" Thor asked his friend confusedly.

"You should return for the mortal you love," Hogun said flatly, tossing him a leather pouch containing a heavy-magic stone. It was used as journeying tool in times past and it had taken Hogun a great deal of silent cunning to get it swiftly out of the vault in time to hurry out to his friends. Thor stared at him in stunned silence. He wasn't sure how Hogun knew about the ordeal with Jane, and he certainly wasn't sure about how he had managed to both steal the stone and Sleipnir so quickly, but as he caught the pouch and looked back at him he knew that it was best not to ask questions at the moment and simply return to Midgard for Jane. He would reclaim her by whatever means necessary; that would get his mind off . . .

"There is something I must tend to first," Thor said sadly, his gaze shifting to Darcy. Darcy let out a cry and tried to bolt away from Hogun once more. The warrior held tightly to her as Thor took a step closer. "I am truly sorry, Darcy."

"No! Please, don't do this, Thor! This is wrong and you know it," she protested, feeling her knees starting to go weak. Something in her was somehow more afraid of the threat of harm from Thor than from Loki when she had clearly seen the one do more damage than the other. Darcy suddenly realized that it wasn't a matter of right and wrong; if there were as many restraints on Asgardian protocol as there were on any of the royal families on earth than he would have a lot to get past in order to get them to agree to his having Jane as a companion. He was having to choose fulfilling a duty and being able to have his true love, or giving in to a promise made to a simple mortal. The tears began to fall as he reached out for her, intentions clear but the method still a mystery. Loki saw this through the haze of agony and fear gripped him.

Before Thor could take hold of Darcy, Hogun's free hand suddenly gripped his flail and extended it to its full length and power, holding it firmly in front of Thor's face and keeping him at a safe distance from the girl and causing him to retract his hand in further confusion. "Return to Midgard and retrieve your woman," Hogun said sternly. "This mortal stays."

"My father has decreed . . ." Thor tried to explain.

"Your father is a crazy old geezer who clearly has sociopathic tendencies!" Darcy shouted. Both looked at her in surprise. "What?! Everyone's thinking it, I'm just saying it! Who orders the murder of a completely innocent young woman they haven't even spoken to? I'll tell you who, a terrorist or a serial killer, that's who! Oh, and that's not even mentioning that he banished his own son and kidnapped someone else's!"

"Darcy, my father is bound by laws and the presence of other realms. If Alfheim alone knew that an Othala was alive and not offered to them they would refute my father's sovereignty," he explained.

"His sovereignty is not assured beyond Asgard," Hogun interjected and shoved the end of the flail against the pouch angrily. "You are running out of time. You must go before the All-Father knows you have departed."

"This will not end well," Thor muttered sadly.

"Oh and it was going to end well for me?! What the heck, Thor?! You promised me, PROMISED, that you weren't going to let anything bad happen to me and what do you do when we get back? You agree to be the one to off me . . . _**in my sleep**_!" Darcy snapped angrily. "You know what, that's why Jane's upset, you're a liar and a selfish blockhead. You go to bed at night kissing your own muscles, don't you?" Loki let out an unexpected, uncontrollable guffaw before returning to the desperate gasps of pain at the phrase. Darcy growled angrily and shouted a similar, although more cruel, accusation at the trickster. Thor stared down at her, cut deeply by her observations. She huffed and looked away. "You know, it's a good thing Jane doesn't really truly see me as one of her girl-friends because if I was any kind of a good friend I'd kick your butt and keep you away from her."

"Darcy, I-I did nothing to harm her . . . and I wasn't sure about your fate," he replied defensively. A loud cawing interrupted the two and prompted Thor to look away in shame. He had been willing to disobey his father before this, to do what he felt was best for Asgard, but in the name of acceptance he was willing to harm a mortal. He was no better than his brother for the time being. He turned and gave a saddened glance towards the trickster and then reached in for the large stone. "You're right," he sighed sadly. He shot one more glare towards his brother and then an apologetic look towards the girl. "I am sorry, Darcy. I do not wish to harm anyone."

"I'll believe you when someone in your family does something decent," she spat back, all of the inner anger, fear, confusion, and sadness that she had suppressed and suffered through coming out in a clear stream towards anyone worthy of it at the moment. Thor's form disappeared into a glowing sphere that flashed brightly before vanishing. Darcy sighed heavily and looked back at Hogun, no longer feeling as timid or powerless. "What now, Tonto?"

"Stay," Hogun said firmly as he released her arm and began to move forward. She groaned and looked back at the horse, her eyes widening and then narrowing at the creature as she noticed it, or rather 'he', had eight total legs. Hogun glanced over his shoulder at her for a beat. "Keep him steady."

"Unnecessary, this guy's got more legs than KFC," she muttered. She moved closer to the animal, the only other truly innocent and relatively harmless creature present besides herself. She reached out slowly towards his dark gray mottled fur, allowing her hand to softly run through his well-groomed fur, up his neck and towards his now lowered head. "It's still weird being here for you, too, isn't it, Spider-horse?" Sleipnir grunted and pressed the side of his head comfortingly against her. She grasped either side of his muzzle, turning back to watch what Hogun was up to as she rubbed the beast's snout gently. "Yeah, me too."

Getting a clear grasp on his pain, Loki felt himself center enough to make sure that Darcy was not dead. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief and then chastised himself harshly for not thinking first of his planned bargain with Thanos; instead he thought immediately of her safety for its own sake. It was the wound, he thought, it made his thinking backwards. Hogun stood a few inches away as his senses cleared enough for a beat to notice him. He sat upright as straight as possible, still grasping his arm. "I take it mother sent you to bring us back," he grumbled unhappily. "She has eyes all over this world. If I didn't know better, I'd think she took Odin's eye to use elsewhere because he certainly wasn't using it."

"I came as your friend," Hogun replied flatly.

"_Friend_," Loki scoffed. "A friendship that ends with you committing treason against both Odin and me as king of Asgard."

Before another word could pass between the two, Hogun threw down his flail and sighed heavily. He cleared his throat. "Laufey was right, there were traitors in the House of Odin," Hogun said sadly. He knelt slowly and placed a fist over his heart, choking back the tears he had finally stifled. He had hidden for days after Loki's death was announced. Hogun had always admired the trickster's ability to use magic and cunning in place of strength instead of simply staying away from their adventures since he could not even come close to matching his brother's strength at his weakest moments. Loki had rescued his friends and brother on many an occasion, even when it meant returning and putting his life at risk. It ached within him during the journey to Midgard that the first chance Loki got to prove himself as a leader, which he had desperately wanted since childhood, his closest friends scorned him and committed high treason. He had wept bitterly, hiding himself in one of the western gardens, mourning for days. Hogun frowned and looked up at the trickster with heavy remorse. "I was one of them. Can you ever forgive me?"

The trickster sighed and shook his head. "Sentiment," he muttered. Another stab of pain shot through him, unable to keep his senses cleared any longer. He groaned and began to pour with sweat as soon as the pain returned. Hogun reached out and grasped the trickster's arm, discovered its state immediately, and pulled off one of his leather belts, strapping the forearm to his chest to immobilize it. He then reached into his pouch and took out a small healing stone, crushing it and forcing the remnants into his friend's mouth. Darcy grimaced and turned away, patting Sleipnir anxiously as Loki gagged and swallowed the dust past the blinding pain that was searing through him. He began to grow a little more calm after a mere second passed and Hogun wasted no time in hoisting the younger up to his feet and then helped him walk to the waiting horse. Darcy watched anxiously as Hogun helped him onto Sleipnir and Loki leaned forward, groaning sickly. "I think I might lose consciousness."

"You should be so lucky," Darcy grumbled. Hogun turned to her and, without a word, lifted her onto the horse behind him. "Whoa! Hey! Wait a minute, I can't ride with him," she protested as Hogun took hold of the reigns and handed them to her. "Look I can sit up here, but I don't know how to ride a horse and I don't know how to get him to help!"

"Loki will seek help where has gone in times past," he remarked and pointed towards the horizon. "To the other side of Asgard, into the darkness."

"Way to be all dramatic, it's not like I'm already traumatized," she muttered as Sleipnir grunted unhappily, sentient enough to recognize Hogun's words and Loki's intent once more. "So is this place like as safe as the palace or more or something?"

"No," Hogun replied. "But you are more likely to survive there than before the All-Father without Thor."

"Thanks for that reminder," she said sadly. Hogun patted Sleipnir's right flank and signaled for him to move forward. The horse snorted proudly and rode forward. Darcy let out a small cry of surprise as the trot became a slow gallop instantly. She quickly wrapped her arms around the trickster fearfully, clutching him around his midsection beneath both arms. She leaned her forehead against his back as he came back to his senses for a few moments more. "I really need to figure out how I'm going to survive this before we go much further."

"And still you travel with me," he observed coolly. "Your pity for me shouldn't lead you to trust me."

"I don't trust you," she replied with a light smack to his unwounded shoulder. He grunted nevertheless, the pain still too great to ignore even with the healing stone in his fluids. "I just don't think I can trust anyone else, either, which kind of makes my options endless."

He chuckled softly, reaching down and patting Sleipnir for a sense of comfort. "And still you travel with me."


	36. Illumination

_(((I thought to myself as we work in another character to shake up the two and get him unsettled even before facing Thanos, what could possibly truly make him frustrated? Well, it would have to be only one thing; her succumbing to a form of magic that was very base and yet not his own so that he looks a little foolish not being able to enchant her where a creature of dark faerie magic would be able. Now she gets to see what real jealousy in real power looks like!)))_

**Chapter 36: Illumination**

"Alright, so let me get this straight," Darcy said confusedly. "This horse is your baby, your kid, but you're not the father?"

"Correct," Loki replied. The full effects of the healing stone were affording him much clarity for this journey. Hopefully, he thought, it would remain as strong in his veins as they entered the realm of Svartalfheim. Granted it had been years since anyone had seen or heard from the dwarves that dwelled in Nidavell beneath or the dokkaralf led by the accursed that dwelled in the mountains, but he would need help from whoever he saw first and neither would be a suitable choice for any weakness especially with a mortal in tow. He sighed heavily and glanced back at her, something in him urging him to speak more plainly and in as great a quantity as he could to her given almost losing her several moments before. He shook it away firmly; he had not almost lost her, she was nothing to lose. Sleipnir grunted unhappily at the stark terrain around them. Darcy had commented that the landscape, barren and darkened by an almost eternal night, looked like the dark side of earth's moon. A fitting description given that Svartalfheim was essentially the dark side of its sister realm, Alfheim, and had been placed by portal directly behind Asgard's fortresses so that the All-Father could have Heimdall watch their kind, and their king, carefully. The mountainous path they wandered was growing darker by the moment and while Sleipnir found it difficult enough to traverse the darkness would make it even more difficult. Loki frowned and noted a lantern glowing in the distance, then another, a pathway. He drew in a deep breath and looked over his shoulder directly and commandingly into Darcy's eyes. "Now, remember what I have told you about this realm."

"It's the home of the dwarves and the elves and it's full of magic that can kill me in ways I wouldn't recognize," she repeated with a groan and rolling her eyes. "And when we get in there while they're taking care of you in return for something you'll probably lie to them about, I shouldn't say anything, touch anything, or get too close to anything or anyone."

"Above all you must not eat or drink anything, look in their eyes, or allow them to touch you. It is poison to a mortal," he warned, in the back of his mind glad that the encounter with his father and brother had occurred. At least now she would be loath to mention her supposed title to any of these creatures. She swallowed hard at this, frowning. Why wasn't there anywhere pleasant to go, somewhere with creatures that didn't have it in for her? He groaned and leaned forward as the healing stone began to rapidly dissipate within him. "No, no, no, a few moments more; just a few moments."

"Are you alright? Is that thing he gave you wearing off?" she asked.

He said nothing else, drawing in a deep breath. The entrance to the mountain appeared and Sleipnir halted. Whinnying with disapproval. Loki groaned more loudly and leaned forward, touching the stallion's mane with affection and assurance. Sleipnir frowned a little at his 'mother' and trotted up to the entrance. Carefully, Loki turned them and motioned for Darcy to climb down. She sighed and dismounted, unceremoniously, toppling to one side and watching as he, even wounded, dismounted with ease and began walking towards the entrance. "Stay nearby," he whispered. Sleipnir neighed anxiously and watched as Darcy hurried to her former captor's side as he strode past the set of lanterns now following rows of torches that grew more sparse the further they moved. Loki frowned. Surely someone had heard them coming. Come on, you selfish little imp, come and show yourself, he cursed inwardly hoping that at least one dark elf nearby or at the very least a dwarf would hear them and come running to defend the mountain. No such luck. He grunted and leaned against the wall as consciousness faltered.

"Loki!" Darcy cried, taking hold of his good arm. "Stop, just stop for a minute. Can't we call for help? Where is everyone?"

"You're speaking," he hissed as sweat began to pour from him again. "They'll hear you."

"Yeah and they'll come and help you, right?" she asked. He felt the world grow dark and his strength give way for a moment. "Loki? Loki, can you still hear me?!" Darcy was able to catch a little of his fall to the floor and let out a cry of surprise and fear. She looked around anxiously. _Frying pan to fire_, her mind said inwardly. "Help! Someone, anyone, help us! Please!" she shouted. She jumped as a strong breeze swept around the hallway and the torches that were giving minimal light extinguished in an instant. Her heart beat rapidly and she noticed a sudden string of glowing orbs not far away along with the sound of faint shuffling. Something or someone was coming towards them. _Don't look in their eyes_, she reminded herself and leaned over the trickster protectively, looking away from what must've been a host of the citizens of this part of the realm.

Loki had been unclear about which of the two races they were most likely to run into and what they would look like. If what she had read held true, then the faint yellowish light that the creature's carried in their hands illuminated what must've been elves. They were as tall as she expected, pale with dark sunken eyes, white haired, and faintly speaking in a strange tongue. Dark elves . . . they must've been. She kept averting her gaze as they surrounded the two, speaking softly and debating what to do. Had Darcy been able to speak their language she would've heard the concept that they were able to recognize even in the dark that she was a human with exceptional talent, it simply surrounded her. A few thought it best to kill her and allow their king to drink her blood to consume its power, another reminded them that it was not their place to make those decisions when the king would've wanted to make it himself especially since the younger Asgardian prince was settled in a heap in front of her in some sort of trauma.

"_We should start healing him before we're blamed for anything, the king would agree_," one hissed in their strange dialect. "_Take the human to the throne room, let the king see what she is and how best to deal with her_."

Before Darcy could ask any questions, and a few had finally formed in her mind, she felt a strong pair of gloved hands grab her collar and hoist her in the same direction they'd been walking. "Wait, wait! No!" she cried as they moved forward. "Loki! Do something!"

"Silence," one of them hissed, shaking her harshly.

"Where are you taking him?! He could be dying!" she shouted.

"I said silence," the elf repeated angrily, this time stopping and grasping her hair, pulling her head backwards painfully. "And I meant it." Darcy began to sob all the harder now. The one semblance of familiarity she had in the trickster had disappeared into darkness. Now she knew how Jane felt, desperate for the sight of Thor once again but terrified he would never return for her.

(*)

"Okay, so it's decided," Dr. Selvig announced as the room full of S.H.I.E.L.D. associates, Jane, and 3 of the 7 heroes still present. "The project will relocate in 72 hours. We will meet at the transport checkpoints nearest our centers at 0800. Is everyone clear about where we're going?"

Jane frowned and looked outside the nearest window, pondering both why she had done what she had done to try and get Thor to return and why he had not returned. Had he decided that introducing her as his companion would mean her safety? Had he decided not to have anything else to do with humanity after discovering something as strange as Darcy? A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of losing a friend, losing her beloved, the man she had thought endlessly about for over a year, and now she had lost any hope of a normal career as well. She jumped as she watched a flash of light followed by a strong surge of lightning suddenly strike the ground outside. She gasped as a figure formed in the center of the flash, a familiar figure in brilliant red and blue clothing clad in silvery armor. She hurried from the room, ready to make any apologies and accusations necessary to balance all of this out and restore her life to what it was when she had been with the exiled prince in New Mexico.

(*)

Darcy felt the creature release her as they came to a room with bright light filtering in at its center. She darted towards it and looked around the rest of the room carefully. Sadly, she was unable to see anything and realized, hearing the low and gravelly voice of the creature that had taken her, speaking still in its native tongue, conferring with someone else. The next voice was perfectly refined as if having had centuries of polishing with greatest care and poise. She froze as it spoke, chilling her deeply as she found her mind worrying frantically about the trickster.

"I see," the voice said softly. "Yes, you were right to take him to the healers. And this one, this one is most assuredly a creature of magic as well." Darcy contemplated moving forward, getting a better look at these creatures, and demanding to know where Loki was. She stayed put with a combination of fear and curiosity keeping her still and stable for the moment. "Go and see to him. I will collect what is needed from this Othala before deciding what is to be done with it."

Darcy found the new voice strangely enticing. _You really need help, you know that? That could be an evil creature, more evil than the one you've already got in your sadistic sights_, she hissed at herself. _Just remember what he told you_. She froze again, realizing she had forgotten in a flash, for whatever reason, what he had told her to expect here. "Don't eat anything, don't touch anything or let it touch you, don't look in their eyes," she repeated softly. "Why can't you say something now, when I want you to speak? Are you that far unconscious?"

"Well now," the strange, and haunting voice announced from the shadows. The comforting light she had run into to stay alert and ready to defend herself was too great to see anything out in the distance from its perimeter. "And just what is it that brings you here? I see a human before me, but their kind are not so boldly native to the realms beyond let alone the presence of greatness."

"Great, another megalomaniac," Darcy muttered under her breath. She turned and felt that breath catch instantly in her throat at the sight of what now stood mere inches from her. There was no averting her gaze now, but she didn't feel poisoned at all. Had Loki simply given her excess precautions to take? _No, he's not concerned enough to take that kind of precaution_, she reasoned, _at least, I don't think he is_.

"Did you speak? I heard words subtly issue from your mouth, but not in a manner as resplendent or lovely as you seem to be," the creature stated smoothly. While a threat was clearly behind his words and this rich, fantastic voice, it was too beautiful to make her afraid enough to bolt. _Definitely something to seek help for_, Darcy thought to herself. The creature looked like the rest of the others Loki had passed; pale skin, crystal blue eyes, white hair, and pointed ears. _**Pointed ears**_? _This is still too unreal_, she said inwardly, _still too fantastic_. Darcy felt her blood drain from her as he stepped closer and drove her back a few paces allowing them to enter the light fully and reveal that he bore a deep and wide scar covering half his face and one ear that left the flesh blackened and somewhat jagged. She gasped. "You seem surprised."

"You-you-you're an, an, an," she stammered.

"Go on," he urged gently. "What am I?"

"An . . . elf," she finally stated in a whisper. "Like a half light, half dark elf, right?" His eyes widened in what she assumed was shock and then narrowed in either contempt or confusion. _Probably contempt; elves treasure their heritage_, she reminded herself. _Great, a couple words in to my first conversation with a real elf and he's going to kill me_.

"I'm not going to kill you," he said fluidly. Darcy stared at him in confusion. "You are none of my concern as far as survival or death; your presence in my realm, with the Asgardian, that intrigues me."

"Wait, so . . . wait a minute," Darcy said putting her hands together in front of her. "I thought elves hated humans, they're creatures of nature and blame us for all their, your, well, all the problems in nature."

He laughed melodically and the smile that formed on his contrasted features frightened her for a beat. She jumped backwards at it until he advanced a pace closer and, in the name of seeming a little less afraid, she stayed put. "You refer to The Sons of Midgard, I am not among them. They abandoned our kind millennia ago to watch over the first roots of the Father Tree failing under the watch of humankind, the source of all faerie and fair folk living and dead. Now those are not ljosar nor dokkar; neither light nor dark and, in that sense, both. I have no desire to preserve nor pursue war with any creature on Midgard," he purred. Darcy took a few cautious steps backwards as he continued to advance. "I am Malekith, the king of Svartalfheim; lord of the dokkaralf and leader of their people."

"Uh, hello, your majesty," Darcy replied with a nod. "I'm Darcy, Darcy Lewis."

"Darcy Lewis. Darcy Lewis; there's something spectacularly sinister and charmingly brilliant in such a name. But I averted the proper course of conversation, forgive me for intruding without an introduction," he said with a deeper and polite nod, holding out a pale hand towards her. She stared at him for a moment and he frowned, withdrawing the hand and nodding to her. "Oh, of course, you are a creature of good breeding and no woman is to be taken by the hand without familiarity. How proper your people must be; I should very much like to know more about you, Darcy Lewis."

"Um, thank you, and I'm flattered and all, but I really need to get back and make sure my companion is alright," she said awkwardly.

He smiled once again, the gleam in his eyes growing all the brighter and hungrier at her words. "He is well and resting, I assure you," Malekith replied, now holding his arm out towards her instead. "Come, my dear. There is nothing to be afraid of, not here."

"Well, I-I don't want to be a burden or an inconvenience or anything," Darcy said defensively backing away again.

"Nonsense; a fetching little creature like you an inconvenience? Such a cruel thing to speak aloud, a false thought. I shall hear no such heaviness from you about this," he replied. Darcy couldn't explain why, but something in her told her that if she didn't take his offer now that she would regret it in the future (although another part of her believed she would regret the action regardless). She reached out and carefully wrapped one hand around his arm and then placed her other timidly over his forearm. He smiled once more and began to walk swiftly, gracefully towards the large doors that led out of the chamber. "You are a most welcome diversion in my presence."

"You'd be the first person to say that," Darcy said uneasily.

Malekith halted and turned to her. "Has he told you such things? Has he spoken cruelly to you?" he asked in what appeared to be earnest concern, but another flash of blue made Darcy wary of his intentions superficially.

"Well, kind of. I mean, he's been wounded and stranded and all so I expected him to be a little off-putting," she stammered defensively.

"Oh, you poor, poor dear," he said, his voice growing more soothing and terrifying every minute. Soon, he would seem more than a match for the trickster in words. He gently reached out with the other hand and, to Darcy's surprise, softly touched the side of her face. Again, not poisonous, but pleasant instead. Very pleasant. The gesture held a cold breeze in it, but the lingering touch was heavenly. She shook herself within and reminded herself that he was probably using strong magic to sway her thoughts. "You shall hear no more of that, I promise you, not from these halls as long as I am present."

"Oh, it's no big deal," she said with a shrug.

"I quite disagree," he corrected.

Had Loki been able to see what was transpiring in his absence he would've screamed madly. Firstly at the thought of Darcy expressly disobeying him and ignoring his warnings and secondly at the thought she was so close to being elfmazed after being immune to the scepter's abilities and his own natural gift of persuasion. But as it happened, Loki was deep in sleep and not likely to wake until Malekith had decided what it was he wanted in return for aiding the little whelp. He felt absolutely exhilarated as the strange descendent of mortal sorcerers walked peacefully at his side. It would be worth the trouble to assist him if for no other reason than to have a human like this in the bargaining balance. Darcy thought about what Loki would say to this for a fleeting moment, then she thought only of how suddenly at ease she felt with this new creature. _Well, he's not what I usually picture when I hear the word 'elf' but at least he hasn't tried to kill me or threatened me, she said inwardly. Maybe this place is safer than that other guy wanted me to believe_. As they continued walking, the natural human draw to the faerie people become too much for Darcy to question and she found herself more at ease now than she had been since long before she had even met Thor. _This won't be so bad, she thought. He'll get fixed up and maybe I'll finally get a decent night's sleep_!


	37. Fevered Decisions

Chapter 37: Fevered Decisions

"Wait, you're not going to go and see to him yourself?" Darcy asked anxiously. "But I thought you were the most powerful creature here; you are the king, right?" He smirked and nodded. She groaned and looked away for a beat. "Then how is he going to get better?"

"There are many great healers in the nine realms, particularly among the elves. You needn't worry, my dear, he will be fine," Malekith said softly. He gently placed his other hand over her own, resting on his forearm. Darcy shuddered at first and looked up at him apprehensively. He stopped and looked down at her in concern as they neared the end of the longest of at least five hallways they had already traversed. "What troubles, you, young one? What has you so frightened?"

Darcy frowned and cleared her throat. "Well, it's just that I've heard some things about the magical worlds, especially places that are considered dark, and none of them were welcoming to . . ." she said as she glanced over at him. He gazed at her with an unyielding and strange urgency. She shifted a little and thought about pulling away to speak further, wondering if he was using some sort of tactile magic at the moment, but then realized that he didn't need to exert force at the moment if he wasn't asking any truly invasive questions. In fact, he hadn't seemed to ask as many questions as he had answered. She bit her lip and cleared her throat. "I mean, a lot of stories about magical creatures involving humans don't end well all the time."

"I see," Malekith replied with a nod. "Rumors and so on, of course. Granted there was a time when even I abducted a human every now and again." Darcy froze and stared up at him in shock. "I adore your kind, your capacity to endure and learn and . . . survive. Those of you without parents to watch after them seemed a perfect chance to enjoy their company without ripping someone away from their home."

"You mean you adopted human orphans?" she asked in confusion.

"I wouldn't call it that, they weren't raised as the rest of our young, too short-lived, after all," he explained as the doors opened. "But we did provide them with years of companionship and affection until they reached adulthood. Spirited little things and yet wonderfully obedient."

"That's, um, interesting," Darcy commented. She was unsure if that meant the children he readily admitted to kidnapping had been welcomed guests, well-treated and adored, or if they had merely been some kind of game that, once the amusement was gone were either discarded or destroyed. After what she had seen in the trickster and in his memories from Asgard she leaned more towards the second. After all, if Odin was willing to mistreat an adopted son, how much less would Malekith be willing to treat fondly a child that truly wasn't even making the pretense of being his own? "So where are you keeping him?"

"He's resting in one of the healer's chambers," Malekith replied. "I believe he is still sleeping. A wound from Mjolnir is likely to take a great deal of time to heal."

"Oh," Darcy said as her stomach sank an inch. Just how long was a great deal of time to an elf? To a human it was ambiguous enough, but in an immortal sense it could be downright fatal. He led them into a chamber that seemed very much like a small dining room meant for private conversation, well-furnished and dimly lit. She glanced and around and found herself suddenly wondering how they had made their way here from the other room; it suddenly seemed as if no time had passed at all. She shuddered and groaned a little at this terrifying displacement she was feeling. She suddenly felt a pair of hands on her shoulders. She turned and let out a small shriek at the intrusion. She panted as she recognized the figure and shock gave way to embarrassment. No, she and the elf were still the only two creatures in this chamber. "Oh, I am so, so sorry. I'm just really, really out of my element right now, your majesty."

"I didn't mean to startle you, Darcy Lewis," Malekith purred. She gasped and nodded. "You should sit. You look terribly pale and I can hear your heart growing tired. You must have been for a long while without proper sustenance of any sort."

"Oh, I've been through a few things, alright, but nothing I couldn't handle," she countered with a measure of pride behind her words. At least with this creature she could feel a sense of both dignity and power from time to time. "But I am thirsty."

"And tired and hungry no doubt. You shall have whatever you desire," he said with more than an undertone of enthusiasm at this. "I shall see to it myself."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary, your majesty," she stammered defensively. "You must have so many other things to see to."

"At the moment your presence takes my utmost priority," he replied. "What can satisfy you for the moment?"

Darcy bit her lip once more. She hadn't had food or fluid in probably more than 24 hours and it was beginning to wear terribly thin on her. Still, Loki had told her not to eat anything. But did that also mean not to drink any of their water? She would die without water after only a short time. She couldn't last much longer without either for the moment, she thought. She stared uncomfortably at the elf who watched her touch the back of one of the seats apprehensively, wondering if sitting in his presence was either disrespectful or wise. She glanced back at him. "Just water, that's all I need," she said softly.

"Very well," he replied and waved a hand. A chalice appeared on the table in front of her filled with clear fluid that she assumed was water or at least meant to look like it. "But perhaps you'll find more of yourself after it. I must see to our friend for a moment if you will only wait here for me."

"But, I think it's best if I stay with him what with . . ." she began. He turned and gazed at her in surprise. Darcy frowned. She sighed, unused to being in the presence, let alone the natural dwelling, of one that was considered royalty. "I'll wait here for minute, your majesty. Thank you."

"You are most welcome, Darcy. I shall return in less than a moment," he said before moving fluidly out the doors once again.

She sighed heavily and slid into the chair nearest her. Staring at the chalice for several seconds she began to feel her mouth grow more and more dry. Her stomach churned at the thought of doing without anything much longer. Cautiously, she reached out and touched the chalice. No magic, no electricity. Electricity . . . She quickly reached a hand into her pocket and felt for her taser. To her relief, it still lay in perfect condition where she had last left it. "Well, even if he tries anything I can always light him up like a Christmas tree, er, elf," she muttered to herself. She glanced down at the chalice again, feeling more empowered by the taser and yet so much more weakened by her growing thirst. She frowned and pulled the chalice closer, sniffing the smooth golden edge with only a visible starburst symbol carved into the bottom of the cup for décor. She swirled the fluid in the light and then carefully in front of her. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. "It's only water," she said aloud to reassure herself and potentially ward off any threat. She drank deeply and felt the rush of fluid entering her satisfy very deeply. The taste was more pure and clear than even natural mountain water. She smiled and looked down at it, sighing with relief. "He's just trying to scare me. There's nothing wrong with anyone here except for their fashion sense and whatever weird superiority complex every race outside earth has towards humans," she muttered. She took another deep drink from the chalice, not noticing at the moment that it had barely emptied. "It's only water."

(*)

"No, not yet. I will leave only when I am good and ready, do you hear me?" Jane said firmly for the umpteenth time to the Asgardian prince, staring at her in disbelief. She finished typing out the message on her phone with the appropriate numbers from Dr. Selvig and hit send instantly. She heaved a sigh and turned to face him angrily. "Did you ever, ever at any point think to yourself that she might've interpreted that gesture as a threat? Cheese and crackers even I know that and I've never been in that situation before! What were you thinking?!"

"I thought I would take her back here and allow your Avengers to watch after her while I reasoned with my father," he replied. After his arrival Jane had promptly approached him and seemed to have been overjoyed to see him. The joy was, however, overwhelmed with reason and Jane managed to stifle an embrace to ask where Darcy was and if she was well. Remembering her last accusation, Thor decided to tell as much of the unselfish truth as he could, only to be met with sharp disapproval and now the thought that Darcy had seen his gesture as a threat. "I simply reached for her, I did nothing wrong!"

"Yes, you did, Thor. You didn't tell your father no, you let your brother who just ripped apart Manhattan walk away with a captive, you bash your stupid hammer into the ground near where that captive is dangling for life from a cliff," Jane exclaimed furiously. "And then you just up and leave, knowing that he could just make off with her if he wanted to!"

"I left his arm a bloodied mess, I don't think he'll be travelling very far, is that a more suitable circumstance for you?" he asked angrily. It shocked him within and Jane outwardly as well that he felt so cross with her and that he was willing to show it. After the last few days he suddenly felt as though there was nothing he could do to restrain himself as he had been trying so desperately to do while his brother was present. "Darcy is alive and well. I am sure Hogun will see her safely back to the palace."

"Back to the palace?! You idiot, that's where the primary source of danger is for her!" Jane shouted. "Who the heck are you?! You never would've done anything like this when I met you."

"Because I did not yet know what either of them was capable of!" he shouted defensively. A clap of thunder rumbled in the background matching its namesake's ire.

"So now it's partially her fault?" Jane demanded.

"She chose to return with me to Asgard, with both of us. Don't think for a moment it has escaped me that there is a tender gleam in her eyes when she glances in my brother's direction. I've seen it in hapless women before," he remarked unhappily. "Part of it is most assuredly her own doing."

"Not the part I'm talking about," Jane countered.

"Hey!" The two turned and saw Dr. Selvig watching them from a short distance away. "That's enough out of both of you. You're not fighting fair, so stop fighting and think about why you're really angry."

"Erik, he left Darcy, LEFT her with his maniac brother while his maniac father tries to find a way to kill her in her sleep!" Jane protested, pointing accusingly at Thor. She turned and glared at him, shoving him furiously as the anger became more of the physical manifestation of the resentment she harbored. "You left her!"

"Do not do that again," Thor said sternly in an almost warning tone. Jane growled and shoved once more, prompting the Asgardian to turn away and draw in a sharp breath. When he made no other movements she shook her head and sighed, turning to walk away. Thor acted quickly, snatching her painfully by one arm and holding her in front of him angrily. "I said, do not do that again."

"Now you're going to threaten me?" she asked with a frown. He pulled her firmly up to him, glaring at her and fighting away tears. "You're hurting me."

"I am trying not to," he said flatly, doing his best to not show any faltering emotion for the time being. He looked down into her eyes, a fiery thunderstorm behind the ice blue. "Do you know why your kind feared us in the infant years?"

"I'm starting to get an idea," she replied hotly.

He pulled on her arm firmly once more, now making the two flush against one another and asserting his superior height. "Because we had a bad habit of abducting your race without warning for our own purposes," he said with menacing suggestion. Jane's eyes widened in surprise as he leaned down towards her. "Some of us still hunger for it."

"It's not abduction if I say yes," she corrected. "You lose that game."

"I win either way," he countered. "You'll be with me."

"Worst pick-up line ever," Stark's voice announced from what was clearly within the suit of armor as he landed. Jane turned instinctively as did a confused Thor. "Got your message," he added as he moved forward to join them. Thor watched in a combination of confusion and dread as the other heroes joined them as well. "Seems like we're missing someone, though. Let's see . . . archer, soldier, widow, damsel, bonehead, doctor, Dr. Selvig, and me. Anyone else that should be here that isn't?"

"I don't understand," Thor stated aloud, unable to think of anything more proper to say.

"Where's the kid? What did you do with her?" Banner asked quickly.

"She is safe and on Asgard," Thor replied. Jane scoffed prompting another firm shake from her beloved and, at the moment, chosen abductor. "Do not scoff at my words she is safe and that is final."

"Abuse!" Stark shouted, pointing at the two. "That's domestic violence right there, somebody get an officer."

"Knock it off," Rogers interjected, turning his attention back to Thor. "The message told us where Darcy Lewis is and what happened. Will your father hear a diplomat or an ambassador from us?"

"I do not know," Thor replied in low tone.

"Well, don't stand there like a quantum-locked statue, let's find out," Stark said with sarcastic enthusiasm. He moved to stand beside the two, staring defiantly into Thor's eyes. "Take us back with you."

"Out of the question," Thor replied with a frown.

"It most certainly is. Gentleman, Agent Romanov, assemble," Stark said firmly. In an instant the rest of the group sans Selvig gathered around, close enough to reach out and touch one another, but not so close as to seem like they were attacking. Thor shook his head sadly. "No other way out of this," Stark added, reaching out and grasping the warrior by the arm. "Come on kids, everybody buckle up."

"This is not a wise decision," Thor stated with resignation. In truth the thought of having the blow of his father's wrath deterred by a horde of angered mortals who had just had to defend their realm from one of his greatest mistakes was a far cry better than simply showing himself back on Asgard again with Sleipnir, the journeystone, and the Othala having been stolen in turn, not to mention the words his father would no doubt have for him when realizing that he was accompanied by his mortal beloved. "But it is one that all of you have made."

(*)

In one of the foremost healing chambers, Loki groaned and twisted himself anxiously in a fever. The elf set over him frowned and applied another cloth to his forehead trying to draw it out. It was born of a wound from Mjolnir and proving to be too great even for their skill. The elf was interrupted from trying another, more stringent, method of curing the fever using bloodletting. The interruption was quite unmistakably the king and the elf bowed quickly before hurrying from the room. Malekith moved closer to the bedside, but kept himself a good few paces away just in case. Loki was cunning and not to be trusted at the best of times, but in a fever or traumatized state he was dangerous. In his blistering dreams he relived several moments of the past and in each one with Darcy he noted past her fear and playfulness was something unique, compassion. She had genuine compassion for him, something he had only thought possible in his mother. He had to awaken, to ask her about this. Malekith recognized the trickster's thoughts and raised a hand, forcing a blast of energy infused with the chill of the room into him. Loki gasped and sat upright, opening his eyes and coughing.

"You're awake, how expected," Malekith said as he watched the trickster center himself. "Hello, Odinson."

"Malekith," Loki replied flatly, nearly hissing. "Your powers are diminishing greatly if even you have not seen the revelation of my heritage."

"I did not wish to speak disrespectfully, my prince," Malekith replied with a mild tone of disdain hinted in the final word that emphasized he would never acknowledge the trickster's kingship. He moved three paces closer, keeping a firm gaze with him. "I am most intrigued by this human you keep for company. Darcy Lewis . . . a creature quite unaware of her own powers, but so fearful of your weaknesses." Loki growled at him and the trickster noted a look of pure satisfaction on the elf's features. "Darcy believes that you would do better under my care directly. Would you like that?"

"No!" Loki shouted defensively and scooted back timidly an inch or two. The trickster caught his breath as Malekith stared at him reproachfully. "I do not need your sentiment, Malekith, or your feeble mind-craft! I remember well what you did to me as a child."

"I brought you out of a deadly fever and healed both the bone and flesh that were torn to create it," Malekith replied casually. "Your mother was ever so grateful and so very touched by the gesture."

"Yes so touched that she warned you after payment was made to not return to Asgard under pain of death," Loki added. Malekith looked at him with one brow raised. "You hurt me, deliberately so."

"I told you to hold still and at first you refused. After the nudge your body obeyed and you were the wiser for it," the elf remarked. "You should be grateful to me for such mercy. After your father, or rather, your king's command I very well could've repaid both Frigga and the helpless, dying child in her arms the very same kindness afforded me. I chose to do what was right."

"You chose to serve your own purpose," Loki snarled.

"Is that not the privilege of any king?" Malekith replied with a wicked grin. "Speaking of purposes, the mortal is quite unaware of having any. I would have thought by this point that you'd have at least planted some falsehood in her mind."

"She is not for me or for you, Malekith," Loki stated angrily. "She is for someone else entirely and I will not have you poisoning her with your simpering faerie magic."

"Oh, I hardly think I would need to use any amount of force on this one," the elf replied with an even broader grin. "She is so easily made comfortable by small gestures thanks to your cruelty that all kindness becomes entitlement."

"You would do well to leave her alone," Loki warned.

"Pity. I had hoped to bargain with you in a more civil manner once you were healed," he said with feigned disappointment. "Now, I suppose it shall all have to be left to us while the human decides her own fate."

"She is not strong enough to withstand such a decision, I have already decided her place in my mind," Loki replied with a scoff. Surely Darcy was frightened enough to heed his warnings particularly in the presence of so sinister a creature. Humans were naturally afraid of elves, after all.

"Oh, you poor creature. The fever has stolen some of your manners," the elf replied in an oily tone. "I should let you rest while I go and see to Darcy. She was quite parched when I left her. I do hope she has taken the water she asked for as well as you took your first."

"Malekith! Let her alone, she is not for you!" Loki shouted. A searing stab of pain shot through his shoulder yet again, more profound than before as the fever slowly began to return. He pleaded inwardly with his own strength, begging for more presence that would enable him to stand and follow the elf out of the room and issue another firm warning to his companion. Even for a fate in the hands of Thanos that wouldn't last for long, a rescue being inevitable after being so connected to others of her kind, she didn't deserve torment at the hands of a dark elf. He groaned and panted heavily as darkness began to cover him yet again. "Please, Darcy," he said in a desperate breath. "Please do as I ask."


	38. Hint of Magic

**Chapter 38: Hint of Magic**

Darcy wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, only that time had passed and that she was no longer seated in the same room. It suddenly occurred to her that she had completely blanked out and realized that she was reclined on a large, soft bed with equally soft blankets. She smiled mindlessly at the unusual comfort she now felt absolutely enveloping her and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a hand softly brush a lock of hair away from her brow. As she opened her eyes she instinctively gasped and sat upright, scooting away from the new entity. The elf seated beside the bed gazed at her in both concern and disapproval. She cleared her throat and shook herself sternly. "I'm sorry, your majesty, I didn't see you," she said with a sigh. "Or hear you."

"I simply wish to see to it that you rest peacefully, little one," Malekith soothed. She nodded and settled back against the pillows with relief filling her again. He reached out and continued tenderly stroking her head. Darcy felt uneasy for a moment about the gesture, but after the third she felt nothing but contentment of the most exquisite kind. She smiled again and began to close her eyes. "I am concerned that you have been for such a span without rest. It does not do well for a human to struggle so deprived of basic needs."

"It's no big deal, I haven't been for like weeks without things so I think I'm still safe," she replied with a shrug. She thought for a moment about her present state, the ordeal since the Tesseract itself had been activated, being threatened with execution on Asgard, and now finding herself at the mercy of a dark elf. _At least the mercy part seems genuine, she thought. But then, how do I know that? For that matter, how do I know he won't try to kill me in my sleep?_ She suddenly felt his hand brush over her own and then grasp it gently.

"Your mind is whirring with fear and questions, I can hear them as clearly as your voice when you speak," he said. She stared back in disbelief at him. "But I assure you that as much as I hear you, I also mean you no harm."

"Is it because you're psychic or is that just something pointy-ears do?" she asked innocently. He frowned at her. She groaned and clasped her hands over her face. "Oh, that sounded so racist, I mean specie-ist, I mean . . . great, I don't know what I mean. I'm so sorry."

"You mean is it a preternatural sense or is it something innate to all of my kind, light or dark," he interjected kindly. Darcy sighed with relief and nodded. "I believe the only proper answer is both."

"Oh," she said. Through the whirlwind of thoughts and subtle desires at being in a magical realm, a desire that any one of her friends had expressed at exceptional volume with each release of a film, book, or game featuring those of the otherworld, one began to ring out uncontrollably. _It's inappropriate; just don't do it, you've already done enough and he still hasn't killed you_, part of her chastised. _But if you ask and he gives permission then it wouldn't be inappropriate_, a childish voice answered. _This is the only chance you'll probably ever have, just live in the moment already_. She glanced over at the elf and cleared her throat. "Um, your majesty, would you be angry if I asked you something?"

"I suppose that would be entirely contingent upon the question itself," he replied. "I would be quite unsettled if you asked me to relinquish the rulership of my realm."

"And you'd have every right to be," Darcy replied with a smile and nervous laugh. He smiled at her obviously anxious gesture and waited patiently for the real question. "It's just, I've always wondered . . ." she stammered. "Can I touch your ear?"

"What for?" he asked in amusement.

"Well, it's just that I've always wondered about your kind, I mean everyone where I come from would give up a half a vital organ just to talk to an elf, but I've always had this strange curiosity about making physical contact with things and granted it has gotten me into some trouble; case in point I'm kind of stuck with the metaphorical god of mischief, but it's something I really never grew out of," she replied in a single, apprehensive breath. She wrung her hands together anxiously as he stared back, contemplating the request. She sighed and waved both hands dismissively. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid thing to ask. I'm just . . . I still just find it hard to believe all this."

He smiled calmly and seemed to enjoy her innocent, and somewhat ignorant by elf standards, gestures. "Very well, if I can reciprocate the gesture then you may," he said warmly.

Darcy stared back at him in disbelief for a moment and then felt the impulsive, childish part of her squeal with joy. Darcy drew in a deep breath and reached out one hand, trembling ever so slightly at the thought of having at her fingertips an ancient and infinitely magical creature. He remained perfectly still as she softly touched, with almost tender affection, the darker side of his face. It made sense that if this was scarred then he would likely not feel much of it and therefore be a little less bound to feel violated. To her surprise, even the dark and strange flesh was soft and warm, not rough or cold which was something she had prepared herself for at remembering he was a dark elf and would probably be vastly different from the creatures she had imagined for so many years. Her heart fluttered as her fingers brushed over the elongated edge of his ear, the blood in her face growing warm at the realization that this was completely real. She then heard a strange sound, something like a purring cat, though much louder. Her eyes widened as she realized that it seemed to be coming from him. She slowly withdrew her hand and sat backwards as the purring disappeared. She was so distracted by trying to compute the sound and the glow that now pulsed in his eyes that she barely noticed him reaching for her in return. She felt him trace a similar pattern, too mesmerized by the incident to pull away or speak. In fact, it took a few seconds for her to remember that this was expressly against the warning Loki had given her.

_He was wrong and has been wrong the last three times, there's nothing poisonous about this_, she thought. _It's too wonderful to be dangerous_. She thought back to the strange purring for a beat and felt a wave of contentment wash over her once more coupled with the undemanding presence of his hand on her. "That kind of tickles," she giggled.

"I know," he replied playfully, lingering for a moment until the stream of giggles was accompanied by a pink glow to her cheeks. _They must not mature into natural fear any longer on Midgard_, he thought. _That would be most useful_. Darcy felt a strange sense of disappointment as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and withdrew his hand. She frowned a little, but cleared her throat and glanced away to hide it. _Perfect, almost completely taken in_, he thought triumphantly. _Only a few steps left and you'll be utterly helpless, and so will the trickster_. "I should like to watch over you while you sleep, if that's acceptable. If it is bothersome, I shall let you sleep alone."

"It's alright," she muttered. This wouldn't have been the case under any other circumstance, of course, but something about all of this despite the smoldering and ever dwindling inner warnings seemed far too pleasant to refute. She was in absolute paradise for the moment and after the last few days paradise was enough to make even the strange and abnormal feel comforting. This was much more than strange and abnormal. This creature, whether his people shared his mannerisms or not, was incredibly and inexplicably kind. Not to mention proper enough to make even the most cool of human royalty blush with excitement. A dream come true for any mortal, she thought for a moment. "Goodnight, your majesty."

"Pleasant dreams, Darcy Lewis," the elf replied. He watched a passive sleep consume her and grinned brightly. This was enjoyable, but made infinitely easier by the trickster's cruelty before. He would be hard-pressed to get the mortal to believe him if this continued for long. Perfect, absolutely perfect. A soft knock on the door caught the elf's attention and he turned, angrily watching as one of the others came in and knelt. It removed its smooth, pale mask meant to look pallid and non-threatening while still seeming otherworldly and imposing; a contradiction to confuse and thwart intruders. Bowing low, the lower creature waited for its master's approval. "Speak, Wulfgar," Malekith said in a low and covertly furious tone. "This interruption must be made worth your life."

"My liege, the Servant of Death sends word that he desires the fetters be delivered to him at once," Wulfgar replied timidly. Malekith turned slowly to the underling and growled softly. Wulfgar shuddered and bowed his head once more. "He sends word that he grows less patient."

"With our craftsmanship he should be grateful we undertook the task to begin with," Malekith snorted. "Go and tell him that the fetters are ready and they will be delivered when he has paid for them. I have other matters to tend to just now, better matters," he said turning back to the sleeping form of Darcy. He grinned and softly stroked her shoulder. "Diplomatic matters."

"Of course, my king," Wulfgar said with a deeper bow. "I shall send every word you have spoken to him."

"Very good," Malekith replied with a dismissive wave. "Go now, and do not interrupt again."

Wulfgar nodded and hurried out of the room, frowning at the sight of another innocent mortal at the hands of the wicked sorcerer. Even the trickster of Asgard was not nearly this depraved and he had better reason to be. Wulfgar sighed heavily with resignation and pondered how best to send word back to Thanos that the promised artifact would not just yet be delivered. It was unclear at all times who to fear more, Malekith or any of the foul allies that he often gathered to himself, but in the end it always paid off to fear the one closest at hand and that was, for the time being, Malekith himself. Wulfgar hurried down the passageways leading to a chamber used for such messages. He paused briefly and glanced into the hallway leading to the healers' quarters. No doubt the trickster was still there and still struggling to recover. Rumors had already spread that his wound was vast and inflicted by Mjolnir which meant it would take the healers' skills, but only Malekith's power could fully heal it when he was this far from Asgard. Wulfgar shook his head sadly and continued on. The wishes of the king came first, painfully so, and at the moment that meant something more pressing than any apprehension or curiosity about the trickster's condition, or the mortal's. In the meantime, Malekith turned his attention back to Darcy and he gazed peacefully at his new pet. She would prove most useful in so many ways, but at the moment she served only as amusement. That was soon to end.

(*)

"Did you have to let the rest of us land on our heads like an albatross?!" Stark shouted angrily as the group brushed themselves off. The only one not struggling to stand at the moment was Jane who had been safely pulled to Thor's side during the trip. Thor turned and stared at his new friends in triumph. They had demanded to come along, but the prince's disapproval would not be ignored. "You could've killed some of us!"

"Then you should go back to Midgard where it is safe, Man of Iron," he replied casually. "There are things far worse than a bump on the head or a slighted landing to worry about here."

"Noted," Rogers replied flatly, helping Stark to stand more upright as the group collected their bearings. "When can we speak to your father?"

"Immediately," Thor replied. He wasn't going to bear this nonsense any longer without his father bearing some the frustration as well. In truth, Thor wanted desperately to throw back at his father the majority of the burden he had just faced in retrieving Loki and the Tesseract. Now was a perfect opportunity to let the old man deal with what was rightfully his own battle. Jane shook terribly in fear and anxiousness, she had never been so far away from her home before and even with Thor's strength and protective presence, she felt overwhelmingly vulnerable to even the hint of danger.

"You know, I never bought in to the whole energy centers and chakra alignment stuff," Jane said as they began to move forward. "But now I can swear I feel each and every one . . . just flickering in and out erratically. I think I might've broken my spirit energy on the way here, or ruptured a karma tendon or something."

"How does one break energy?" Thor asked in confusion.

"The CERN Supercollider, but that's not the point," she replied, attempting to soothe herself with an inside bit of humor as well as some familiar jargon. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to be here."

"I concur. Your presence is acceptable but I cannot protect all of you the way I was able to in your own world," he remarked unhappily. "This may not end well for all of them."

"They probably knew that before Stark gave the order," Jane said with a heavy sigh. "Besides, they don't have as many reasons as I do to be afraid."

"What would you need to be afraid of?" he asked in earnest apprehension.

"Are you kidding? This is what every girl is afraid of," she said glancing around the gorgeous landscape with an unbecoming frown. "Meeting the boyfriend's parents."

(*)

Loki heard the arguing going on above him. He heard the single healer set to watch over him call for help. The two became three, then four, then five all discussing how best to address the strange fever overtaking him and setting the wound properly after being so completely battered. The final decision was to alert the king to this predicament to which one of the five promptly stated that most recently he had given the order to not be disturbed as he looked toward healing a mortal. The trickster's heart raced at those words. What had happened to Darcy? She had been fine when he had collapsed, not wounded at all. In fact, in all of the time she had spent with the trickster she was most whole and at her peak when he had drifted off into unconsciousness. What had changed that? One of two things, you fool, he hissed at himself. Either she angered someone or they have decided to interrogate her in your absence. Neither will go unpunished no matter who dealt the final blow. He groaned and tried to raise his voice enough to complain or make a demand as he felt them move him to a cold, hard surface. _Oh no_, he thought. _This isn't a bed in the healing chamber, it's a surgeon's table_.

"Bleeding him is the only way for the moment. All we have to do is keep him alive until the king has finished with the girl," one of the elves said to his companions. "Just make sure the cut is small enough to not bleed him thin."

"I didn't think Asgardians bled at all," another elf scoffed. "You would think with all their feigned strength and hollow, feeble minds that there would hardly be a drop of blood in them."

"And yet eons ago it was their blood that nearly covered the plain near the camp of the Einherjar. Fools; they will die for just about any cause," the first remarked as Loki felt the tip of a dagger dig deeply into his good shoulder near its attachment. He groaned more loudly, desperately, trying to make it known that though he could not fully respond he felt every bit of this. The elf chuckled and withdrew the blade, grasping his arm and clutching it tightly so that a stream of blood began to trickle softly into a cloth. Loki began to shudder and feel infinitely more cold than he had ever felt in his life. _How could anyone with Jotun blood feel this cold? For that matter, how could anyone with Jotun blood bleed so easily_, he thought. "He's not asleep," the elf observed with disdain. "Bring me an elixir of easement."

He heard some shuffling overhead and then felt two of them lift him forward, pulling his head backwards and opening his mouth. "Let us hope he has more strength in him than what he seems to. The king will be very displeased if he begins to fade during the night," another elf added unhappily. "Mind his breathing, don't let him suffocate on that."

"He'll be under soon enough. Then we'll just have to mind his breath and beating heart until morning," another said with a sigh of relief.

Relief was slow in coming to him. The elixir was something he had not been familiar with on the visit he had made with his mother. Then again, what he knew of the realm and its medicine was limited. There were, after all, no real or pressing issues presented by Svartalfheim or any of its peoples since Odin first banished Malekith to the darkest part of their universe. Once the elixir took effect, Loki felt the cold swallow him like a layer of thin ice over water. His breath grew shallow and slow while, to his relief, the waters beneath the ice seemed to grow much warmer than their surface and the welcome shadow of a dream was cast over him. Once he had drifted through the rungs of consciousness and settled on the floor of his mind, he gathered his senses and tried to stand. He looked around from side to side and was relieved to see that the verdant plain in Darcy's mind was only a few strides away, past the edge of gold and marble floor that led into his own sanctuary. He smiled and hurried forward, making his way into the girl's mind and thinking to himself that this was the first time he had felt such relief and joy to be in so irritating a landscape. He felt Darcy's mind whirring more slowly in its dream than her waking moments. It must've been truly comforting to be so relaxed for her after whatever she had been through. He looked around, still unable to see himself as per the custom of her dreams, and wondered if she was too exhausted to come and speak to him like this. He frowned at noticing the sight of heavy gray clouds clinging to one another in the distance as a slight breeze began to pick up once more. He heard the familiar sound of a sign rising out of the ground behind him. As he turned, he noticed that Darcy seemed to be sleeping at the base of the sign, a strange glow surrounding her. He frowned and knelt beside her while looking up at the sign.

"What in the nine realms is that about?" he asked, not truly expecting an immediate answer.

None came. He reached down and put a hand on her shoulder, glancing back at the sign once more. _**You have **__**1**__** memory(ies) waiting to be processed into long-term**_, it read. The sign suddenly warped and groaned, growing a large canvas between its posts. A light flickered over the canvas and then began to play a set of moving pictures over it. He watched in confusion as the images began to make sounds and produced images of people he had seen recently. He furrowed his brow and watched the visage of Darcy and another of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents speaking softly to her.

"Alright, I know what you've said and for the record I don't buy it," the man in the image said. Loki put a name immediately with the face and voice; Agent Barton. "And I can't tell you enough how sorry I am for my part, but I think I have something that might help you while you're up there."

Darcy seemed to be disconnected somehow and Loki noted that she didn't seem to be conscious of the moment in the images. She sighed and looked away. "What is it?" she asked sadly.

"It's kind of important," he said with a wink. "And it just happens to be my secret weapon."


	39. Dream Process

_(((Dear Christopher Eccleston: This is in response to your interview where you stated that Malekith the Accursed, or at the very least your portrayal of said dokkaralf, has no redeeming qualities and therefore could not have a fanbase. I have successfully acquired a small fanbase for you based on a single redeeming quality in faerie magic that would certainly make any fangirl swoon. You are welcome. Feel free to thank me with the gift of Tom Hiddleston. Sincerely, the would-be will of the Macrocosm!)))_

**Chapter 39: Dream in Process**

"A bottle cap?" Darcy asked as she looked over the strange object in her hand. Agent Barton smiled warmly and nodded. "That's your secret weapon? A lousy bottle cap?"

"Hey, that's not just any bottle cap. It's a vintage 1970 Dr. Pepper bottle cap from Murphy's Emporium; three blocks from where I started school," he explained with a broad grin forming on his features as he recalled its story. Darcy shifted, handing him the cap so that he could hold it and demonstrate the story behind it properly. "You see, my brother and I were left without our parents when they got caught in the crossfire of a mob raid, so my brother was left to raise me. And when I was about five or six I started getting really picked on at school. He tried to teach me to fight, but I really flopped on the whole hand to hand combat thing."

"And you started hiding a bottle cap in your fist to make the hit harder?" Darcy asked in confusion. That explanation hardly made sense, but then neither did keeping a bottle cap as a secret weapon period.

"No, nothing like that. On my seventh birthday my brother took us around town to take in the sights and just relax. I wanted a soda more than anything and this is what he got me and it turns out that a bottle cap from years prior had accidentally been put on a new bottle. I thought that was great because something from so long ago fit into something new," he replied, flipping the cap once. "My brother saw that Murphy's was selling an Authentic Indian Bow and Arrow, not like the kind Arjuna would use, but the Spaghetti Western type."

Darcy smirked. "It's kind of weird and awesome at the same time that not only do you know the difference, but you've got a Bollywood example on tap for the moment," she said with a laugh.

"Well, back to the point. He got it for me and when we left the store I saw a woman getting robbed. My brother went back into the store to phone for the police. I slipped this cap in my pocket, took aim with the new bow, and fired," he said. Darcy stared at him in disbelief. "They got the arrow out of him at the hospital. I kept the skills and the bottle cap, and I haven't missed a single target with a bow as long as I've had this." He held the cap aloft once more. "And now I think it will do the same for you. You know, maybe with the taser or something, but it should still help somehow."

"Yeah, um, I've never actually 'missed' with it, but thanks for the gesture," she said taking the cap gingerly. "I'll think of it as a lucky charm or something."

"Luck nothing, that thing is a power totem," he said patting her shoulder affectionately.

"So what happened to the woman? Did she ever thank you?" Darcy asked in concern.

Barton smiled. "Boy did she; the next day she and her husband took my brother and I into their home," he replied. "My brother got to go to college instead of working all the time and then I got to have a mom and dad to visit when I went to college."

"What did you study?" Darcy asked with a slight tone of sarcasm. She found it hard to believe that any part of the tight-lipped, bad tempered, and often aggressive agent was intellectual.

"Literature and classical languages," Barton replied with a shrug. "I took a minor in European Linguistics. I actually have a Master's in French and a BA in Latin."

"That's interesting," Darcy said glancing back down at the bottle cap. "So why did you keep using a bow instead of getting something more efficient?"

Barton looked back at her almost hurt by the comment. "What about my shooting hasn't been efficient?" he snorted. She looked away for a beat as he sighed and shook his head. "It's just, my parents were killed by guns; I promised God at their gravesite that I'd never use one. I figured a bow could still be as lethal or non-lethal as I wanted it to be and I learned in my studies that more heroes than villains use a bow and arrow. All great villains since their invention have used guns."

"That's true," Darcy muttered, turning the cap over and over. She sighed and gripped it, looking back at him with forced gratitude. "Thanks; I'll keep it with me for now, then. When I get back, you can have it to get your targets again."

"I'll hold you to that," Barton said with a wink, putting his arm around her. "Hey," he said more solemnly as Darcy began to look as though she might cry. "Just try and stay calm no matter what happens. Keep your eyes open and never stay in a place for more than a minute without taking in the details. It'll be safer that way, you'll always be able to find a way out."

"Thank you, Agent Barton," Darcy replied softly. He pulled her closer to him and, without a word, Darcy fully and firmly wrapped her arms around him. She squeezed him tightly and felt him returning the gesture. She forced away another surge of emotion as she pressed them both together tightly. "I really wish I didn't have to do this."

"You don't," Agent Barton replied, pulling them away and taking either side of her head in his hands. "But the truth is, if you were honest with yourself, that you started out on the whole ordeal with him and now you want to see it through to the end. It's a gamble, but you're braver than you think."

"You think I'm brave?" she scoffed.

"Yeah," he replied earnestly. "Yeah, I do. I've seen you take stuff head on and handle it in ways even seasoned colleagues of mine couldn't."

"I guess," she replied with a shrug.

Loki watched the vision warp and the images on the screen begin to flicker in and out before starting completely over. He frowned and sighed heavily, turning his attention back to the figure of Darcy that lay sleeping on the ground. The strange glow around her was unmistakably magical, but what had put it there? He ran a hand gently over her neck and back, trying to feel for the source of it. To his dismay, the same mechanism that prevented the scepter from working, or so he assumed, was preventing him from seeing what exactly had enchanted her. He growled and thought to himself that this was most assuredly faerie magic, although it didn't seem to be harming or draining her life force the way that usual dark faerie magic behaved towards humans. He heard something strange come from the library halls he had left behind in his own dreamworld. His arm still ached miserably, even in dreams. Pitiful excuse for healers, he thought. Can't even stifle pain. Then again, perhaps their master has instructed them not to.

"Let us hope for your sake that a simple enchantment is all he's tried to use on you," Loki said softly. He stood slowly after making sure that she was otherwise unharmed and noting that no other signs were making themselves known. The images were still flickering across the canvas and repeated themselves over and over again. He sighed heavily and strode back to his own mind. The entranceway to Darcy's mind began to shudder and grow smaller. He frowned and quickly turned to the nearest bookshelf, willing a tome with a staunch warning in a clear memory appear. He grabbed the large book and hurled it through the closing portal, smiling as it closed. "And let us hope for their sake that an enchantment is all that they've tried to do to you."

(*)

Darcy awoke after a most refreshing night's rest. While Loki had wondered through the average part of her dreams, she had spent the entirety of her rest in every imagined scene that she brought to mind when thinking about magic, faeries, elves, and the otherworld. There had been every beautiful creature and wonderful sensation from prancing unicorns to the airy music of flutes and strings. Malekith had waited patiently for her to awaken and offered to show her a chamber filled with artifacts from his people's past. Again, he offered her food, but Darcy gracefully declined and asked for only water instead.

"How loyal you are to his request," Malekith commented with feigned admiration. Darcy blushed at what she felt was a deep complement. "I have never seen such strength and determination in a human before."

"I just don't want him getting testy when he's back to himself," she replied with a shrug, taking another long drink from a gold chalice. "Speaking of which, how is he doing now?"

"I'm afraid the healers have informed me that his condition is slow in recovering," the elf replied sadly. "A wound from Mjolnir can remain unchanged and fevered for months in the strongest of creatures."

"That's horrible," Darcy said with a look of shock forming on her features. _How could Thor have done something so terrible to his brother? There's a limit_, she thought. _He was caught up in anger, it's not like he set out to just cause pain_, another part of her corrected. "What can I do?"

"You?" Malekith asked. A thought came to him. Perhaps if the human felt that she could use part of her gifts to heal him, then she would be bold enough to desire assistance from a more magical source. She would certainly see that truly magical beings were superior in that sense and thereby a better choice for fine tuning her skills as an Othala. "Of course," he said as if coming to some sort of epiphany. "You are an Othala, you have great power, immense power . . . you'll be able to heal him!"

"Really?" she asked, perking up at his words and sitting more upright in the chair at the table. Somehow they had arrived back here and, while Darcy was intrigued by the idea of being so empowered, she still found herself disoriented and unaware of how she had been transported. "What do I need to do?"

"Just concentrated your energies on what you would like to see done," he explained calmly. "It's as simple as that; imagine it, and it will happen. Oh to have such gifts," he mused. "Even latent they can be lent to heal entire realms. To think that one might have the power to restore their own world."

"I can do that?" Darcy asked more excited. "Like get rid of pollution and stuff?!"

"Anything you like. The glow is blue which is of the mind and spirit, able to heal in the most permanent sense," he explained, taking her hand and looking deeply into her eyes. "All you have to do is learn more about it."

Darcy stared back into his glowing blue eyes, strangely drawn to ask a question that hadn't really crossed her mind before. "Can you teach me to do that?" she asked. She heard the words exit her mouth, but found it strange to hear something that she hadn't even considered seconds before. What had prompted her to say such a thing? Not that such a thing was a necessarily bad idea; these creatures didn't seem so bad and they certainly hadn't tried to subjugate her.

"Why of course I can," he replied warmly. "But it would require you to stay for a time. I cannot, after all, abandon my people. They are dwindling in numbers already because of the dangers we have faced outside our realm."

"Would it take long?" she asked, now finding the idea more and more suitable.

"Not if you kept at it," he replied with a wink.

Darcy thought about this for a moment. She suddenly slipped her hand mindlessly into her pocket and her fingers brushed the bottle cap that Agent Barton had given her. Her mind began to buzz again. She had promised to return it to him. She could be back to her own world sooner if Loki wasn't there to stop her. He hadn't done a single thing yet to teach her how to defend herself with the gift and that made her more than vulnerable particularly on Asgard. She bit her lip and then looked back up at the elf, ready to make the bargain she had made with the trickster a moot concept.

(*)

Loki wandered through darkness, silently contemplating what he could do to regain his strength and leave with Darcy more quickly. For that matter, he could gather enough strength to transport himself back to his mother and that be the end of Thor using Mjolnir anywhere near the palace. The thought was pleasant enough, thinking of the tongue-lashing Frigga would dole out to the older. He wouldn't be able to take Darcy with him with that method, of course. Why should that matter? She is nothing more than what she will become, a slave to be used in bargaining, he thought. A strange weight came over him and began to ache in his chest almost as much as his arm seemed to hurt. Guilt, a useless sentiment. He shook himself, but was unable to shake away the feeling as memories began to pour over him. He remembered how she had run to him to see if he was hurt over and over again. She had tried to help him away from danger even after he had been responsible for deaths and destruction. He remembered her embrace in the dream-world, her genuine affection for him.

"I can't leave her," he realized aloud. "I made a promise to her."

"_**Failure!**_" a loud voice thundered in his mind. He suddenly sank to his knees, trembling at the voice. It was unmistakably Thanos and it would haunt him until his debt was fulfilled. He began to hear voices over him once more. The healers remarked that assistance was coming and none too soon. Then he heard other voices, familiar and yet distant.

"Like this?" he heard. It was Darcy. His heart leapt and he began to hurry forward making any movement necessary to propel himself towards consciousness once again. A soothing cool moved over him and then a jolt of power shot through his arm. He crumpled into a heap in his mind, screaming in agony. "Uh, oh. It looks like it's hurting him."

"It won't hurt for very long. Just keep your hands still as you concentrate," he heard another voice say. His mind raced at recognizing it; Malekith. "I must see to something before the day fully begins. Stay beside him, my dear, and make sure that the fever does not return."

"Yes, your majesty," Darcy replied with a longing sigh. Loki growled inwardly and began to move more furiously towards the edge of consciousness. Five times more pain rang loudly and brightly through him, flashes of brilliant red and heat tried to stifle his movements as he moved. This was very much like the first time he had been at Malekith's hands at his mother's bequest. It had taken less time to heal him then, or so he remembered. He groaned and found himself standing at the threshold of the waking world. A sheer wall of glass seemed to be in his way for the moment. Darcy noticed that the trickster's eyes were darting to and fro beneath their closed lids. He breathed more sharply, the redness and swelling dissipating like an animation. She gasped and let out a small cry of joy. "It's working! I'm doing it, I'm healing!" she cried happily. The trickster shifted and let out a low moan, trying to reply and burst through the glass. "Oh, Loki, this amazing! I wish you were awake to see this. I don't have to go back with you, now. I can learn everything I need to in just a few short months; just staying here and . . ."

At those words the glass began to crack. Loki firmly slammed both hands against it, shrieking. "What?!" he shouted inwardly. The glass shattered and fell to the floor as light flooded into his eyes. Darcy gasped and scooted back as he stared harshly at her. "What did you say?" he whispered. The trickster sat bolt upright and gazed more harshly at her, his voice gaining volume. "_**What did you say**_?!"

"I said," Darcy repeated slowly after clearing her throat. "I'm staying here."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no; you are not staying here, you shouldn't have been here in the first place. What on earth has you so taken by this wasteland?" he replied angrily, still trying to get his bearings after the elixir. She frowned and looked away which revealed a dual glow in her eyes. One was a pleading, desperate cry to be released from some oppressive spell while the other revealed what the enchantment was. "You're elfmazed!"

"What?" Darcy asked in confusion.

"Did you look in their eyes? Did one of them touch you? Did you eat anything of theirs?" he demanded. She frowned more sadly once again as if too uneasy to reply. Loki snarled and grabbed both her shoulders. "Speak to me! Did you heed my warnings?!"

"Yes, yes, and no," she replied. He continued to gaze into her eyes as fear began to grip him. "I wasn't poisoned, though, so you should know that it wasn't a big deal. I looked in their eyes, I've been comforted by them, and I've only had water."

"You did what?!" he shouted furiously. She shrank back, defensively stating that it would've probably seemed very rude to Malekith to refuse his hospitality and added that he was a fine and noble creature. "You did everything, everything I warned you not to do! What in all of the realms in all of existence were you thinking? Malekith?! He's the chiefest of perpetual evils because he can don that cloak of glamour and seem fair to those that he would destroy!"

"He's not hurting anything or anyone, you were," she retorted. For the first time, the accusation truly cut into him, burying itself deep in a shard shoved scornfully into his side where he had plunged the shiv into his brother. She sighed. "Besides, he says I'm important. That if I stay here, I won't have to learn any magic to defend myself and it can go back into the cosmos, to earth, to help things heal. I don't want to feel helpless anymore, Loki, I want to feel powerful. I need to be powerful!"

Loki stared at her in disbelief seeing the image of his own desperation before he had been captured by Thanos. The memory made him shudder and it reminded him of what he had truly planned for her. It was one thing to put her in the hands of Thanos. He was near enough to Midgard and bent enough on destroying it that he would be too careless and her rescue by Thor would be assured because of it. To be placed in the hands of Malekith was worse than a death sentence; she would spend what precious little time she had left in life poised on the edge of a knife vivisecting her soul. She would know she was trapped and be immobilized by illusion, powerless to pull herself free of the blood-drenched nightmare that he would eventually visit upon her. The trickster's heart raced. She had chosen to travel with him, he had heard the other elves remark that it had taken a great deal to suppress her desire to see about him, she truly cared for him.

_And now you've let yourself care for her_, he realized. _She doesn't deserve your fate, she doesn't deserve to be left in their hands, either. You have to escape, you must return her to Midgard and flee into obscurity before this madness follows you for the rest of your days_! He grasped her shoulders more gently and felt a tear break free of his eye. To his surprise she reached out and wiped the tear away immediately. It felt strange; liberating and forgiving, to have such tenderness before him. Why had he never been able to revel in her simple, feminine charm before? It reminded him of his mother's gentleness. He reached up and cradled the hand she used against the side of his face, lingering a few moments as another tear trailed down, this time flowing seamlessly over the creases at the joining of her fingertips. It trickled down as he looked deeply into her eyes.

"Darcy please, listen to me," he said urgently and more softly than he had ever spoken to her before. She stared at him in confusion. "You cannot stay here, he will kill you. Perhaps not today, maybe not for several years, but he will use whatever magic is within you to add to any destruction he visits on your world after he conquers the others. Your presence gives him a great advantage over any other realm and it cannot be allowed to stand!"

"Oh, right, because you're all for saving my world and all the others now," she replied sarcastically, pulling her hand away.

He snarled a little and kept a hold on her hand, yanking it back towards him. She frowned and stared back at him in surprise. She stared at him with a measure of concern as the snarl melted into another set of tears and a solemn, saddened look. "Darcy, you do not know what you are saying," he said gently. She scoffed and tried to stand. He folded his hands firmly around hers and placed his forehead against her hand clasped in his. "Darcy, I beg you, do not suffer the fate I did. I chose to seek power in darkness and while my flaws are strong enough to withstand such degradation they would be your undoing in a blink."

"Oh, now I'm not as strong as you?" she snorted indignantly. "You sound just like them."

"Like who?"

"Everyone!" Darcy shouted angrily. He stared at her, frowning. She sighed and rubbed her brow with her free hand. "Look, I don't know if you remember, but even before you came along with your little discostick, I was not well liked."

"Because most humans are ignorant; how else would they have tolerated my brother?!" he replied, growing furious both with her and most certainly with Malekith. He suddenly remembered his brother's words. Maybe they would seem different and ring true to a woman. He looked sternly at her. "You give up this poisonous dream and come back with me. I will take you home; home, Darcy." The pleading, desperate look in her eyes responded by pulsing a faint blush over her cheeks as well. He leaned down closer to her. "I will not let you be harmed, Darcy, I swear," he whispered. She breathed deeply and opened her mouth for a beat, wanting to speak but unable through the fog of enchantment to properly form words. He glanced down at her expression and felt overcome with warmth all at once and then inexplicably drawn to act. He caught her mouth against his and tenderly, gracefully, pressed his lips around hers and closed it. Darcy breathed heavily as he reached out with one hand and softly touched her jawline. They parted the impromptu kiss as slowly as a word spoken kindly. They kept one another's gaze a moment longer and Loki felt relieved to see a modicum of the glamour wiped from her eyes. "Come; we will go."

"Go where?" an icy voice asked from the shadows near them. Loki looked up in time to see Malekith only a few feet away. Darcy's gaze transfixed on him once more and she turned and noted, through somewhat of a strange haze forming, that he seemed frightened of the elf. She scoffed at this. There was nothing to be afraid of. She stood slowly and smiled as she moved to the elf's side. Loki stared at the two in horror. "I believe," Malekith said with an evil smile, "That the mortal wishes to stay . . . with me."


	40. Darcy's Choice

**Chapter 40: Darcy's Choice**

Loki snarled at Malekith as the elf gently took Darcy's hand and smiled wickedly at the trickster. "I see you are well on your way to being fully mended, Loki," he observed with a smoldering hint of disdain. "It won't last if you don't stay here. You know this."

"A risk well worth the taking," Loki replied, pushing past the elf firmly and moving into the hall. He glanced over his shoulder. "Enough of your silliness, Darcy, come."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Darcy replied, glancing back at Malekith in concern. "If you need to stay here for a while to make it permanent then maybe you should just . . ."

"I did not ask you to accompany me, you fool, I am demanding that you fulfil your oath to me and follow," he shot back angrily. If a cruel and wicked creature had her affection for the moment, then perhaps an even more imposing figure would encourage her to obey. She frowned and turned to Malekith, unsure of whether or not to follow. Loki stopped and turned back to them furiously. "Darcy, come with me this instant or I shall punish you thoroughly. Do you hear me? Now."

"Loki, I really think staying here is better. Look, I can get all of this done in a couple of months and if you stay with me there won't be a need to hide anymore," she offered, unsure of why that seemed appropriate to say. "Please stay with us."

"Us? _**Us**_?!" Loki asked, unable to aim his rage more properly at Malekith for the time being. "Darcy listen to yourself! You're not thinking clearly. I should never have trusted you to behave with restraint around such powers, now before you do something you'll truly regret start moving and follow me." She frowned and shook her head. "Sleipnir is waiting and I am sure he is just as exhausted as we are if not more so, now do as I say!"

"You're not my king, Loki," Darcy shot back loudly. The trickster felt a surge of hate move through him as the glow in her eyes became less her own and testified the hold that magic now had over her . . . another's magic.

"Neither is _**he**_," Loki hissed, moving towards them hurriedly. Darcy stared at him pleadingly as he reached out angrily for her. Malekith quickly pushed her behind him and withdrew a dagger, holding its point aloft at the trickster's neck.

"You do not lay a hand on her ever or again," Malekith warned. Loki knew well what he truly meant, but at the moment it must've seemed like some noble protective gesture to the girl. "Now if you insist upon leaving in a huff then do so, but do not think that you can take anything else with you."

"This is not over, Malekith, you know that," Loki rasped. "When I return it shall not be alone and it will not bode well for you."

"Loki, please . . ." Darcy said sadly. "You can't go back."

"Oh, but I can," Loki replied smiling just as wickedly at the elf as he turned to leave. "And what's more, I will return for you."

"This is not a wise choice, trickster," Malekith warned as Loki paused for a moment. He smirked and turned back to face the elf.

"Malekith, I wouldn't go around accusing other creatures of lacking wisdom if I were you," he began calmly. "It reflects poorly on a creature that has not disarmed its precious captive." The elf's eyes widened in surprise. Was the girl armed? She didn't seem to be carrying any significant weapons. He turned back to her for a beat. Darcy frowned and looked away as Loki disappeared into the darkness. She rubbed her shoulders as tears began to form quickly, painfully. Loki made his way to the exit stopped only by three or four elves who he dispatched quickly. Sleipnir had waited patiently by the entrance and whinnied loudly at the sight of its maternal figure. Loki growled softly as he felt the effects of Darcy's healing under Malekith's guidance fading quickly. "If you could see how flimsy faerie magic truly is you would think twice about your decision to stay, and the second guess would be the correct answer."

"We'll have to go after him," Darcy said, shaking her head and wiping her tears away. "I can't let him die or suffer or anything like that no matter what he's convinced of."

"The watchmen will take care of him," Malekith said, turning slowly to her. Darcy felt a chill move through her noticing a slight gleam of rage in the elf's crystal blue stare. "I have more important things to think about at the moment," he added. She took a defensive step backwards, suddenly compelled to be afraid of him. _Why don't I have conscious control over anything right now? Is this what going without food for days does to people_, she wondered. Malekith sheathed the dagger, but his stare seemed just as sharp as he moved closer to her. "Tell me, Darcy, did you come to me with a weapon?"

(*)

"Really? That's what you want us to do?" Stark asked with irritation. The group had been taken inside the palace and into the same meeting hall where The Warriors Three and Sif usually met with Thor and often Loki as well. He was relieved to find out that there were no friends waiting for him this time and he could safely hide the new arrivals while allowing his father time to be distracted by the news of Loki's departure. No doubt he would have to spend a significant amount of time comforting Frigga once she had discovered that her baby was missing. "We just find a place to nap while you meander around doing God only knows what?"

"It is either that or you could interrupt my mother and father as they learn that their younger son is missing, the older disappeared briefly to bring a host of mortals back with him, and that father's prized stallion and a journeystone were stolen as well," Thor replied hotly.

"Not to mention you bashed your brother in the arm full force with your stupid hammer," Agent Barton added, recalling part of what the lengthy message from Jane had said.

"You did what?" Rogers asked, moving forward. He hadn't received the same message, relying on the others to relay to him what was transpiring and when he was needed. He glared at the older prince angrily. "You attacked your own brother, after everything else?"

"He had already caused a great amount of unrest," Thor replied unhappily. The group glared at him in disapproval, Banner shaking his head and sighing while muttering 'so that's why the little guy was messed up'. Thor turned and stared harshly at Banner. "I was caught up in a moment. I wasn't thinking."

"That's about par for your twisted course, isn't it?" Stark shot back. Jane shot him a furious glare and warned him silently to leave it alone for the moment. Stark sighed heavily and let both arms drop to his sides. "This is great. We're stuck in the universe's worst hotel until the universe's worst family composes themselves so that we can go after the world's worst criminal, seriously who just decides they're going to take over the world and keeps getting up after having the smack laid on them eight times in a day and a half, and wait for the world's worst family to find their next human victim. Help me out here, is that what's happening?"

"We only have one night and I'm sure that Thor knows what he's doing," Banner offered diplomatically. He turned to the Asgardian with a hopeful look in his eyes. "You do think this will only take one night, don't you?"

"If that long, Banner," Thor replied with a sigh of relief. At least one of them was willing to be civil. Jane frowned and looked away for a beat. Thor followed her gaze and frowned as well. She was hiding something from him, something that had truly unsettled her. He reached out and took her hand which, to his surprise she reciprocated immediately without looking up. "I will go and speak to them now. The rest of you wait here."

"The rest of us?" Rogers asked. "Who's going with you?"

"I am," Jane replied flatly. Thor's heart lightened a little at this. She sighed and moved towards the exit, urging Thor to follow. "Let's get this done quickly." He turned and nodded to the rest of the group before hurrying after her.

"Jane," he said softly. She remained moving swiftly down the hallway, not turning to him. He frowned and gripped her hand more tightly once more and halted them, trying to look more fully into her eyes. "Jane?" She looked away, still holding back a torrent of emotion. "Jane I truly am sorry that I did not bring Darcy back with me. I wanted to, I tried . . ."

"That's not the problem," she interjected, her voice beginning to crack. She shook her head and finally looked up at him. "You left her here . . . but you left me there, Thor. You just, you left me behind as if I didn't matter to you."

He looked back at her in shock, wounded. "Jane, nothing could be further from the truth," he said. She shook her head as a few tears fell and her shoulders trembled with sharp, saddened breaths. "Jane," he said softly, comfortingly. She sobbed a little louder and wrapped her arms around his enormous form. "Jane, I would leave my realm behind and cast aside my birthright if that is what it meant to keep you close to me."

"You don't mean that," she whispered sadly. "You're a good person and a good person wouldn't abandon their friends and family for some stupid fling with a peasant."

"You are no peasant and my love is not that superficial," he corrected sternly. She looked up at him for a beat, grateful for the correction but still not convinced of its authenticity. He smiled and placed a hand gently under her chin. "Besides, I am also a happy fool. And a happy fool readily leaves behind the safety and surety of home for their whims."

She smiled and nodded, placing her hand on his side affectionately. "I can't see you go without me," she whispered. "Ever again."

"Agreed," Thor replied with a nod. He pulled her into an embrace, a short reprieve from the impending turmoil. The two melted into one another, breathing as one as their fears and disappointments faded into the other's warmth. "It would be the death of both of us."

(*)

Darcy shrieked in terror as the doors closed behind her and the infuriated elf that had hold of her, grasping her taser in his other hand. "Did you think you could come and take what is rightfully mine with your power?!" he demanded.

"No, no! It wasn't like that, I only carry that for protection, it's not meant to hurt anyone!" she cried as she tried to stand more fully. He growled and shook her, sending her back to her knees in submission once more. "Please believe me, your majesty, I didn't come here to hurt anyone!"

"And I am to believe a human who was in league with an enemy of Svartalfheim?" he shot back.

"If he was enemy then why did you help him?" Darcy asked in confusion.

He snarled and took hold of her by the hair. "You dare to question my hospitality?! Mewling flax wench; I will not be bested and dethroned by a hasty-witted mortal!" Darcy sobbed heavily as he tossed her several feet in front of him. She gathered herself and stood, looking into the darkness that now formed around her. She slowly sank back to her knees, covering her face and weeping bitterly. "I will return for what is left of you. If there is an honest drop of blood in you, then you will remain unharmed," he hissed. "If not, you will be consumed by deception."

"No!" Darcy shouted, the cry fusing pitifully into a wail. As her voice faltered, an electric current, cold and sharp, pulsed through her as the wail continued without her. This was an inhuman cry, something terrible and terribly hungry . . . wolves. She gasped and scooted backwards as three pairs of glowing yellow eyes appeared in the distance and she heard deep growling. She finally felt her back touch the wall of whatever cavern he had left her in and she found the strength to stand up against it. Even standing it appeared that they sets of eyes were much higher, much taller, than even the largest of wolves. "Oh no," she muttered with dread. The foremost wolf began to approach more fiercely, its maw glistening with white, blade-sharp teeth. Darcy sank to the floor and sobbed heavily. "Loki, help me!"


	41. The Sentry and the Sentient

_(((Sorry this one took so long, guys. I had to have some major comforting from people I didn't even realized cared about me when a relative attacked me for a daily fun fact I send out . . . apparently sending out a daily fun fact is disrespectful and rude for anyone younger than the people receiving it according to this person who got verbally nasty to me, my mother, and his wife. Oh well, at least I know none of the rest of the family and my friends feel that way and at least I get to escape into the rest of the nine realms to get away from all that! That's what writing's for!)))_

**Chapter 41: The Sentry and the Sentient**

Darcy trembled furiously as the wolf continued to advance on her. In the minimal light that was offered by an unknown source, Darcy could tell that this wasn't an ordinary wolf at all, if it indeed was lupine. Right now it looked very canine and nothing more; short, dark fur, a longish snout ending in its toothy snarl, glowing yellow eyes and massive paws at the end of its thick legs. She stared at it wide-eyed and terrified to move even in breathing. She and the creature continued to stare at one another for a great span of time. She wasn't sure how long they remained affixed on one another, only that it was definitely more than five minutes. After a time, the hound grunted and ceased growling. It slowly laid down on the floor and was joined by the other two in doing so. Darcy slowly sank back to sitting and watched the creatures. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief that she had not died violently yet, but began to cry silently, tears pouring endlessly, as she realized that even with this reprieve these creatures wanted her blood and would not stop until it was fully spilled for them to lap up.

"Please, Loki, come back for me," she whispered, trembling. "Please don't leave me here." After a few seconds more, waiting and growing more anxious, Darcy decided that it was no good just sitting and cowering. "Alright, I can do this. I can do this. Just visualize; concentrate and visualize," she said to herself as she pushed back against the wall and stood slowly. The center hound began to growl again and rose slowly, its eyes narrowing in hunger. Darcy returned the stare and drew in a deep breath. "You're not going to hurt me," she whispered. To her surprise, the wolf's growling ceased for a moment. After a few seconds passed it put a paw forward and began snarling once more. She swallowed hard and pushed aside her fear. "You're not going to hurt me," she said a little louder. The hound once again became silent and stayed perfectly still. Had Darcy been able to see herself clearly, she would've been amazed at the azure glow emitting from her eyes. She felt a strange sense of wonder and strength moving through her and, without thinking, she moved forward and reached out with one hand. "You are not going to hurt me." The hound stared at her silently, remaining perfectly still as the girl approached him. In the darker light she was unable to gage how close she was to the hound and jumped backwards a pace as her fingers grazed the short fur on its neck. It let out a low grunt as she pressed forward again and purposefully held her hand against him, breathing a sigh of relief. "You're not going to hurt me."

"Extraordinary," a familiar voice announced from the darkness. The other two hounds stood, their ears poised and waiting for orders. Darcy turned and watched in surprise as the semi-dark form of the ruler of the realm appeared, watching her intently. "You truly are more powerful than even he saw."

"Malekith," Darcy breathed in gratitude. She hurried to him and, for reasons even she couldn't understand she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I'm so glad to see you, your majesty!"

"I know you are," he purred, placing one hand on her back and the other on her head. His magic was still present even after threatening her life. How incredibly simple and simply incredible this human was becoming every moment more. "Truly you meant no harm, I can see that now. Come, I will take you back to your quarters. You must be exhausted after such a terrifying ordeal."

"Thank you," she sniffed, wiping her eyes and straightening her glasses. "I was afraid that wasn't going to last very long. Those things are huge."

"My hounds are quite thorough, but they will not harm a creature like you, not when they sense your innocence," he said softly as he lead them from the room, omitting the phrase that should've followed his sentence which was 'at my bequest, provided the innocent creature has something I desire'. She clung to him almost as tightly as she had done for the trickster and it pleased the elf that she seemed to have forgotten entirely about her precious half-Asgardian. "I implore you, Darcy Lewis, please eat something and let yourself be at peace for a while. You will grow faint if you continue much longer like this."

"Well," Darcy mumbled, rubbing her arm pensively. She felt Malekith put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder, occupying both limbs with soothing her. She sighed heavily. "I guess it couldn't hurt since I'm magical too, sort of," she reasoned aloud. Malekith smiled triumphantly and congratulated himself on charming a mortal with so little effort. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped, turning to him quickly. "Wait! Where's Loki? Did the watchmen, er, elves find him? Is he alright?"

Malekith hid the grimace that naturally formed at the sudden blow to his victory. He sighed and stroked her head once more. "He has ventured farther than I had anticipated," he said sadly. Darcy frowned and glanced at one of the other hallways anxiously. "But I assure you that there are many others out looking for him. With Sleipnir to look after him, he will still be quite whole when we find him."

"Hey did you know that horse is his child, like I mean really his, like he's the mother?" Darcy asked with inexplicable curiosity and enthusiasm.

Malekith smiled back at her. "Of course, everyone knows that story," he replied.

"I don't," she said softly. "I'll have to ask him to explain further."

"That's the spirit. Think about his return and not of anything dreadful," the elf urged pleasantly. He led them back to the same furnished small dining room that Darcy had first entered after the initial meeting in the throne room. She glanced around apprehensively at the bread and vegetation now lying on the table on silvery platters. "I'm afraid we do not consume flesh as handsomely as Asgard."

"It's okay, I've been meaning to go a little more veg myself," she said dismissively. Now this seemed familiar, the concept of an elf being a non-violent vegetarian. Of course for the moment Darcy had forgotten entirely that Malekith had not said that in so many words, but had simply said the word 'handsomely' which was ambiguous at best in this circumstance. Instead she took a seat as gracefully as she could beside him, troubled to see that they were the only creatures in the room. "Where is everyone else? Don't you have a queen or some courtiers or something?"

"Alas, my queen has been dead since our great war with those born of Midgard, not long after our banishment here," Malekith said sadly. "And my children . . . I know not what became of them."

"You had children?" Darcy asked in amazement.

"Indeed. Four strong sons and one lovely daughter; Lorca, she was barely able to walk when she and my wife were attacked. My wife was found, Lorca was not," he replied, looking away even more grieved. "I have tried to seek them even in the underworld, but such efforts have proved to be vanity each time."

"I'm so sorry," Darcy said. "I wish there was something I could do."

"Perhaps, in the future, there might be," he offered. "Please, take what you will. You must be famished."

Darcy carefully took a corner of bread and eyed it carefully. It didn't seem strange and it certainly seemed welcoming after everything she had just been through. She sighed and downed it quickly before mindlessly taking a drink from the chalice next to her. The fluid in it wasn't water, but it was sweet and refreshing. Malekith watched happily as she ate as energetically as she would've done at home. He reached for his own chalice and smirked as he listened to her begin to speak at greater length about her past and home; a side effect of the food's magic. He listened, sipping proudly from the chalice every so often and adding only one or two words to prove he was paying close attention to her. _Such fascinating creatures_, he mused inwardly. _Pity that she'll be changed when stripped of her powers. Still, she will make a marvelous pet in a menagerie that hasn't seen a human in centuries. Yes, Darcy, you have chosen to stay and stay you will . . . forever_. The glow that he had seen grow in her eyes the more power he exuded over her began to pulse softly as she sat back away from the table and breathed quietly. She yawned and folded her arms over the table like a child, lying her head against them and sighing. She felt so young, so at ease now that any semblance of protocol, minimal as it was given her humanity and culture, were absent. He smiled as she rubbed her eyes. He could take what he wanted shortly. He silently reached out to her and traced the outside of her ear once again. Darcy jumped and giggled once more, the pink hue of enchantment rising in her cheeks again.

"P-please don't," she giggled and then yawned, stretching. "I'm so tired."

"Of course. You should sleep, child," he said standing slowly and holding a hand out to her. She nodded and stood as well, taking his hand and gazing deeply into his eyes. For whatever reason he seemed more comforting, more handsome now. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she could've sworn that he was too beautiful to ignore now. She couldn't look away unless he broke his gaze with her. She sighed contentedly and leaned against him, once again uncertain of the passage of time or change in space as she found herself lying in the bed. He sat down beside the bed, laying a hand on her chest as she drifted off to sleep. "That's it, Darcy Lewis. Sleep."

(*)

The trickster had climbed effectively atop Sleipnir who bounded out of the realm at full gallop after asking where the human was. Loki had told Sleipnir to be silent and hurry home while the sentient horse read his mind; the human was in danger and there was only one way to ensure her survival. It infuriated him beyond belief that he would need his brother and the Warriors Three to aid him now. "I can do without Sif," he had muttered angrily as the wound on his shoulder and arm began to resurface. "That troublesome flap-dragon is the last thing I need walking back into Svartalfheim. Or perhaps she is the perfect punishment for that oaf . . . yes, of course. I do hope you enjoy a good, strong wench, Malekith. You'll have more than your fill of violence with the Lady Sif!"

Sleipnir whinnied anxiously as they crossed the border back into Asgard and hurried for its royal city. Loki let out a loud cry of pain and felt as if some string of magical sutures was bursting one at a time. He cursed Malekith under his breath, knowing well that the title of 'accursed' had been earned because of numerous similar circumstances. Once the royal city was in view, Loki felt relief replaced by an overwhelming wave of sickness. He burned within and froze without, pouring with sweat and trembling with nausea. It was as if not only had the healing from the elves and Darcy slipped away and faded, it seemed as though the wound had been made even worse, as if he had been out in the wilds for days with infection and fever overtaking him. He groaned as the golden glow of Asgard's royal city met him.

"Please, please let mother be nearby," he whispered, tears streaming from his eyes in distress and in remorse for the danger he had purposefully left Darcy in. No doubt Malekith would attack her, not fatally of course, but enough to do significant harm and terrify her beyond human sanity if he could manage. His hounds alone had driven humans mad that they didn't tear to pieces and eat what they could of them. The guilt he had shaken off from before now became as heavy and burning as the fever itself. He growled more loudly, unable to keep his thoughts within as the infection grew more fierce. "WHY?!" he cried.

Unbeknowst to the trickster, the group that were waiting by the window facing the outskirts of the royal city heard the exclamation. "I know that voice," Rogers said, turning in the direction and gripping his shield.

"Me too," Stark added, lowering his mask. "Let's go get him."

"Wait," Banner said. Everyone turned to him. "He's in distress."

"Which means he's probably done something to her that he regrets or she's been taken by someone else, let's go," Stark added angrily.

"No, he's right," Natasha added quickly. She turned to the rest of the group and frowned. "He sounds hurt."

"Oh, poor baby. What do you want us to do? Get a first aid kit and go running to carry him back to his room where mommy can take care of his boo-boo's?" Stark snapped back.

"Maybe this is something Thor should handle," Barton corrected.

"No need," Thor announced, joining the group and looking out the window with a look of worry they had never seen before. "Heimdall heard him and saw him . . . he has gone to retrieve him and bring him to father." The group turned to him in confusion. Thor shook his head. "I will need your help to . . . intervene somehow. Father will not be happy or merciful."

"You want us to try and get him to take it easy on your brother?" Rogers asked. "The alien terrorist that just took out part of Manhattan?"

"It isn't just my brother that faces my father's wrath. Hogun stands guilty of theft and treason as do I, Jane stands in poor favor for having my affection, and Darcy , , ," Thor swallowed hard. "Darcy has been condemned to die."

"Oh, your dad's a regular bundle of sunshine," Stark said, his nostrils flaring with a personal blend of anger and resentment. He knew well what it was like to have a conflicted hateful father riddled with neglect and hostility throughout. He smirked and walked over to the Asgardian, patting his shoulder. "Alright then; take us to the throne room, introduce us to the old geezer and let us handle the rest." Thor turned to his new friend in confusion. Stark winked. "Trust me, I know how to deal with guys like him and it sounds like we're just what he needs right now."

In the distance, Loki noticed the glistening form of Heimdall coming closer. Through the haze of fever that had taken him, he could still tell that it was the Sentry of Asgard come to retrieve him. He groaned sickly and slid of Sleipnir, losing what little strength he had left. Heimdall quickly moved to the prince's side and caught him, situating him carefully in his powerful arms so that he could breathe and so that the wound would not be further offended by armor or pressure. He felt the warrior lift him into the air like a maiden, his head slightly dangling to one side as he tried to get his bearings, reeling every few moments. Heimdall glanced down at him and frowned.

"The king wishes a word with you before the healers can see to you," Heimdall said firmly.

"Darcy," Loki muttered. "You can see her, I know you can. Is she alive? Has Malekith overtaken her?"

"Yes," Heimdall replied. Loki knew that he was replying it to both parts of the question and it made his heart ache terribly. He felt the Sentry's grip on his chest strengthen for a moment. "But her strength still eludes him. She is asleep. She still seeks you in her dreams."

"If I could sleep," Loki muttered, "I could find her."

"That is why I am not taking you to the king," Heimdall explained.

The trickster looked up at him in concern for a moment, his brow furrowed despite the torrent of sweat dripping down between his eyes and trickling over either cheek like tears from his very thoughts. "Where are we going?" he asked, his voice growing weaker.

"To the one true ruler of Asgard itself and its royal family," Heimdall explained with a slight grin. Loki relaxed entirely in the man's arms, realizing before Heimdall's explanation who he meant and eternally grateful that this would be his destination before facing Odin. "To Frigga."


	42. Somewhere in Dreams

**Chapter 42: Somewhere in Dreams**

Thor had been unable to keep the group of Midgardians from hurrying back to the entrance of the palace as they heard the announcement that Prince Loki was arriving with Heimdall. Now that she had spoken her mind, Jane seemed to be forgiving and clinging to him now more than ever, his stomach lurched as the group momentarily merged with the Warriors Three, Hogun (having apparently not yet been reprimanded by the All-Father) looking apprehensive of facing Odin and Sif sneering angrily at Natasha. The merger did not, however, merit the confrontation he feared and the group simply hurried to the throne room where Odin suddenly stood from his throne, Hugin and Muninn perched and poised on either side. Frigga hurried down the steps leading from the throne, reprimanded once by her husband and silenced him instantly with an unyielding single gaze. Instead, the king turned his attention momentarily to the Midgardians that had clearly been the product of more of Thor's antics, sneering at them as they hurried to the palace entrance. Heimdall arrived presently and carefully laid the crumpled form of Loki on the marble floor as guards surrounded them and Frigga knelt to cradle her son's head against her.

Thor looked down in shame at his brother. He knelt as well, reaching out towards him, tears filling his eyes as he saw the blood staining the trickster's sleeve and the gruesome shape that was evident even beneath the layers of leather and cloth. "Loki," Thor whispered. "Brother, please forgive me."

"There's no time," Loki gasped, looking at his mother desperately. "We must . . . there is . . . I should not have told him of her weapon!" he cried. The group, Midgardians and Asgardians alike, all looked at one another in confusion save for Heimdall who stood upright and frowned, knowing well what was transpiring. Loki lurched forward, grasping the maimed arm at the elbow, the only place where his hand wouldn't sink through shattered bone and tender sinews. "Darcy!"

Jane pushed past the group and knelt on the other side of the prince, putting a hand on his shoulder firmly. She wasn't sure whether or not to be gentle for the moment; he was hurt, after all, but he was also responsible for abducting one of her only friends. "Where is she? Where's Darcy?" she asked hurriedly. Loki retched and groaned, straining and arching his back as his mother tried to keep a hold on him and Thor reached forward trying to take him into his own arms instead. To the surprise of both, Jane hurriedly took hold of the trickster, cradling his torso and ever so carefully handling the maimed limb in the arm facing most outwardly and using the other to push hair away from his sweat-stained brow. "Loki; your name, it's Loki, right?"

He opened his spinning eyes and noted the face of his brother's beloved through the fevered haze. She didn't seem infuriated any longer, but terrified instead. _Her friend is in danger, she needs to know she is safe, and you cannot assure her of this_, he thought to himself. _At least she will have Thor to cling to instead of taking her wrath out on me_. Jane breathed deeply and placed her hand on the side of his face carefully, trying to focus his gaze.

"Please, Loki, tell me where Darcy is. That's all we want to know. We can go and get her; you can stay here and get better, but we have to know where she is to rescue her." Jane continued, her voice as soft and yet firm, very much like Frigga's. The briefest of smiles crossed the face of the trickster, replaced instantly by the grimace of pain overtaking not only his visage, but his entire body as well. _That's what Thor saw in you_, he realized to himself, _you're so very much like mother_. Jane huffed desperately and pulled his face closer to hers, clutching her hand against his pale, cool, damp cheek. "Please, just tell us where she is!"

"She's been enchanted . . . elfmazed," he muttered in the fever. Jane frowned, her eyes widening at the thought of her friend being under some kind of spell after the whole reason Loki had been keen on keeping her captor was that he had been unable to enchant her period. "Elfmazed, she couldn't help it. I should never have . . . _**urgh**_ . . . she was so, so innocent." Jane watched in horror as Loki's eyes began to glow red, a glistening vermillion that told the innate observer in her that he was dangerous, perhaps even vampiric. She gasped and pulled away a moment without releasing him. He screamed in pain, arching his back once more and causing Jane to lose her grip on him as he writhed on the floor shouting Darcy's name and another name as well. The moment the second name was mentioned, a look of abysmal dread crossed the features of each Asgardian, causing them to each become almost as pallid as the dying prince. "Malekith, wretched elf, Malekith! _**Darcyyyyyyyy**_!"

"Who's Malekith?" Rogers suddenly asked. Frigga began to sob heavily at this and covered her face muttering that it was all her fault. Thor looked over at Jane with a silent command as he took hold of his brother and picked him up carefully. Jane went quickly to Frigga's side and wrapped one arm around her, placing the other carefully on the queen's forearm. "Is he another one like all of you, or like him?" He pointed to Loki for a beat as Thor stood. "Or is he something else?"

Fandral turned to the new arrival and frowned a little. "A dokkaralf, a very wicked dark-elf sorcerer. He tried to take Asgard long ago and the All-Father banished him to the other side of the dark part of Asgard, sealing his portion of Svartalfheim against our realm to keep him prisoner and well-watched," Fandral explained. The group watched in further dread as Loki began to turn a pale blue, gasping, the hue growing a little deeper as he struggled all the more to breathe and contain his consciousness. "He is very powerful, and very dangerous."

"He once served the court ever now and then," Volstagg added. "For a price, usually a terrible price."

"This must be a trick," Sif interjected firmly, hiding a gasp of fear. "The dokkaralf are all but dead and Malekith was banished half dead himself."

"I think we can safely assume, given the circumstances," Banner corrected, moving closer to the fallen prince and his strange family, "that he's got no reason to lie right now."

"But why Malekith?" Volstagg asked, gazing at Hogun for an answer he thought his friend might be able to give. Hogun frowned and looked away. "His skills in healing are unmatched, but bear strange if not somewhat evil after marks."

"His services were only truly called upon once," Odin said through gritted teeth, looking over at the queen accusingly. "Under similar circumstances, if I recall. The boy gets a fever that threatens to reveal his true form and she decides to go and enlist the aid of that creature."

"Don't you dare put this on me, Odin; it was you who said that if the fever could not be contained and his true form revealed that he would have to be dealt stringently with," Frigga snapped back, standing hurriedly, trembling. Jane stood beside her, her mouth gaped open in shock, but still keeping her hands comfortingly on the queen. "Willing to slaughter the child you rescued instead of seeking magic to help him . . . you're nothing short of a monster. Malekith was born dark, you have fine-tuned it in choice!"

"It wouldn't have been a death entirely, he's a Jotun!" Odin argued. Frigga sobbed a little harder and practically every gaze save the guards glared hatefully at Odin. "He would've slept for a few hundred years, yes, and we would've had to have hidden him away while his true form was present, but it would not have killed him entirely . . . at that time. Given his current machinations one questions whether or not it was worth sparing him."

"You arrogant jackass!" Jane suddenly shouted, grasping the queen's arm more tightly. Thor turned to her in shock for a moment as did the other Asgardians. "I didn't think Darcy was telling all the truth when she said that you were an abusive creep in his childhood, but now I'm amazed you just banished Thor to earth instead of flattening him when you got angry!" she shouted, hurrying forward and standing a few inches away from the king's form. She was too small to meet him face to face, but her heated anger practically began to melt his golden armor. He stared down at her in confusion. "You know what? If anyone in New York wants someone to thrash for what happened, I am so pointing them in your direction. Thor better be grateful I'm not one of those girls that determines her relationship status based on her in-laws because after meeting you I'd have written him off faster than a marriage license in Vegas!"

"Jane," Thor began cautiously. She whirled around and hurried back to the queen, putting her hands gently on her again and leading her towards the other side of the room.

"Move it, Thor, your brother is dying and for all I know so is Darcy!" Jane shouted over her shoulder. Frigga sobbed all the harder as Thor glanced blankly at his father, then followed swiftly after Frigga and Jane. "And part of this is your fault, too, you mook. But your father is the worst example of a bottom-feeding blowhard I've ever seen in my life which makes him . . ." she ranted as the trio, flanked by guards calling for healers, disappeared into the rest of the palace.

"Yeah, every royal family's got crazy coming and going," Stark said with a smirk, folding his arms. "Classic example of why cousins shouldn't breed."

Odin snarled and turned to face the mortal, slamming Gungnir into the floor. "Silence, mortal! This is my court and I will not be mocked by the likes of you!" he shouted.

"Uh, no, you left that to Astrophysics Barbie and your adopted Smurf," Stark replied, unfolding his arms and raising his height somewhat, willing to accept the challenge from the old man. Odin growled and approached Stark who pushed away both his own companions and the warriors that tried to pull him back. "So what now? You going to send a search party or the cavalry out to get her or what? I mean you were the one that wanted her dead because she was so powerful and I think we all know even you're not stupid enough to let that power fall into the hands of an enemy. And an elf; really? A half-dead elf? That's just messed up."

"No, indeed," Odin replied in nearly a hiss. He turned to Heimdall and cleared his throat. "Send for twelve of the finest scholars and five sorcerers. We will locate the source of her power, retrieve it, and be done with it all. She will be at with her power released into the cosmos, and the danger assuaged."

"What?!" Rogers exclaimed. The king turned back, lifting his one brow at the soldier reproachfully. "You're just going to siphon whatever it is you're afraid of in her and leave her there? She could be killed!"

"By removing her powers so fully, her life force may inevitably follow," Odin replied. "A fate far more merciful than anything Malekith would've done."

"Boy you are some piece of work, old man, you know that?" Stark continued, advancing even further and pushing his glowing chest outward; the inner primate in him displaying his superior strength at least intuitively to intimidate. Odin frowned and gazed at him unimpressed. "Not only are you not concerned that a life could be lost, any life, but you're going to make sure it happens yourself?"

"She was unfortunately marked with a power that cannot be controlled and could very well destroy your world," Odin lied. In truth, he didn't know what the extent of the Othala's gifts were, only that they rivaled his own. "It would plague her and torment her to live with them."

"And in your infinite wisdom and mercy you're just going to kill her slowly so that what? Our world is safe enough for another one of your kids to have a temper tantrum?!" Stark shouted. Odin growled and stepped closer, practically towering over the man just as Thor had done, gripping his spear menacingly. Stark stood his ground, snarling. "You want to butt heads with me, old man?" Stark raised both arms, summoning his armor and causing every Asgardian present to gasp and step backwards. The guards raised their weapons, whispering fearfully as the final layers of red and gold clamped over the small genius's body, making him a formidable opponent. Stark smirked one last time as the face-plate slammed shut over him and his eye slits glowed. "Go ahead, Methuselah. I've already gone head to head with your sons, literally. I kicked both their butts and they didn't deserve it half as much as you do, right now."

Odin said nothing and raised Gungnir, ready to deal a blow to the man that he would not be able to withstand even with the strongest elements in his armor. "Enough!" a voice suddenly shouted. Thor stormed back into the room as Odin lowered Gungnir and his son approached. Thor frowned at him. "Go and make ready what you think is _**best**_," he spat, clearly not having any faith in what his father would decide regardless. He put a hand on Stark's metallic arm and gestured for the group and the warriors to head out towards the exit, leaving the palace behind. "My friends and I will do what is **right**."

"I knew you had it in you, Hamlet," Stark said with a wink. The group followed silently, awkwardly, and made their way towards Heimdall. "There's only one problem. If that weird, dark realm is even half the size of earth, even if it's flat as Kansas it could take us years to find her."

"I wouldn't say that just yet," Barton added with a grin. He held up a small device that looked like beeper with a screen that seemed to have arrows and a very tiny map of their current location. He waved it. "Never let an agent leave without a tracking device." The group gave a mixed reaction of relief and confusion. Barton looked down at the device and pressed a few buttons. "The trick was getting her to take something with her and for that, all I needed was a bottle cap."

"Your _**bottle cap**_?" Natasha exclaimed. Barton smiled at her and nodded. Natasha smiled back and shook her head. "Well I guess we're better off than we thought we were."

"Perhaps," Thor interjected. "But father's sorcerers will work as quickly as they can. We have maybe a day at best to find her and collect her before they complete their task."

"Noted," Rogers said heavily. He stared at Heimdall with anticipation and wondering why Thor had led them out to this warrior who was either Captain of the Guard or something similar. "But timing's been on our side so far. Now what?"

"Now," Heimdall said in his rich, deep voice. The Avengers noted the other Asgardians standing more upright at this and wondered what kind of issue was to follow. The gatekeeper nodded to each. "You make haste for Svartalfheim."

(*)

Loki remembered his brother begging for forgiveness before leaving the room swearing to retrieve Darcy and make Malekith suffer before offering penance for the wound he had inflicted on Loki himself. Darkness clouded much of his senses save for a few sounds of odd voices for a few moments. Then he felt and heard his mother, repeating to him that he would be alright and stroking his head affectionately as the healers did their work. It lasted for what seemed like hours, no days, no moments. He groaned. He couldn't be sure of time at all right now and it tormented him as greatly as his captivity with Thanos. As the healers dispersed, the pain subsided, the fever began to break, and Frigga kissed him bidding him goodbye and leaving for a moment, Loki felt another strange presence beside him. A small, soft hand, curled around his own on the arm that was not greatly bandaged. He shifted and tried to clear more of his senses. In the window that allowed him sight he saw that it was his brother's beloved, Jane, still standing beside him. He furrowed his brow in confusion as sight left him and his neck lost strength, his head falling instantly back down onto the pillow with a plop.

"You don't deserve to die," she muttered. "Darcy thinks you weren't yourself when you did all those things in New York. Erik says you fed him and made sure he slept," she said, still clutching his hand. "I know you're not out to help anyone and that's fine, most humans don't even do that," she continued. She squeezed his hand. "But you don't deserve to die."

"If they do not make for Svartalfheim at once, I will lose her," he whispered. "I have so much I want to know from her." Jane frowned. Even though Loki was not pure evil, he wasn't exactly a naturally altruistic creature, either, and his desire for Darcy still seemed to be more for curiosity about what had evaded his grasp rather than a deep love. She shook her head and stroked his head with her other hand. Loki's eyes suddenly snapped open and he turned to her, gripping her hand in return. "I know what I must do," he whispered.

"What?" Jane asked in confusion. He groaned as a sharp stab of pain moved through him. The medicines were meant to help him, but only while he was reclined, an incentive to stay put while he healed properly. She leaned closer. "What do you have to do?"

"I need to sleep," he whispered. Jane frowned a little and nodded, muttering 'of course, that's what every person needs to get better' before he turned back to her sternly. He squeezed her hand more tightly. "No, not to sleep to heal, to sleep to dream. We've dreamt, we've dreamt and we have done much in dreams," he said, trailing off in an almost wistful grin. "I shall bring her out of his enchantment in dreams. She will be free again."

"Free to be brought back here to that monster on the throne," Jane said softly, sadly, and sure that Loki was too tired to argue or agree wholeheartedly. To her surprise, Loki sat upright slowly, an angered glare on his face as he asked what she meant. "He's going to have some magic people take her powers or something and that means . . ."

"Her life force will fade as well," Loki realized sadly in a whisper. Jane watched as a few tears quickly formed and rolled down his cheeks. He clenched his eyes and jaw shut, forming his hands into two fists and fighting away both anger and pain as he reclined once more. "No," he whispered. "I will reach her first." Jane watched him in slight confusion; a creature that had wanted so much dominion, destruction, then to have complete understanding of such an unusual creature he had abducted, and now he wanted to rescue her? She recognized the final glisten in his tear-drenched eyes as he closed them and released his grip on consciousness. "_**Odin be damned**_, **I **will save her," he whispered.

"Why?" Jane asked instinctively without thinking.

"I think," Loki whispered as a small smile began to form on his lips. "I've grown accustomed to her voice."

(*)

Darcy had slipped into a dream almost immediately. This one was more beautiful, more magical than the last. She glanced over at what was once her dark place and felt her heart leap with joy. In place of the burning, fetid, doomed town was a world she had never imagined before. There was an enormous golden castle and a lovely kingdom with verdant farms, well-built and even wealthy looking peasant homes, shops and a forest with music of the loveliest kind sweeping through the air. Fawns and deer appeared from the edge of the forest prancing happily followed by unicorns. Birds, singing in human lyrics she recognized as beautiful poems, twirled around her as if drawn into life by an artist and not real creatures at all, though they looked too real to be animated when they flitted close enough to blow playful kisses at her. She giggled and curtseyed politely as they flew away, singing. She noted that shadow versions, or rather simply colours that were shaped like peasants moved throughout the lower parts of the kingdom, singing as well, speaking in song about how terribly excited they all were to welcome their new princess to be crowned queen. In an instant, something inside Darcy told her that she was this princess and her very spirit swelled with joy. She twirled around once, laughing, and then ran hurriedly towards the castle.

"Darcy, no!" she suddenly heard. She turned and noticed the form of the trickster. She frowned. He was in adult form and appeared to have been much worse off than when he had abandoned her in Svartalfheim. He made his way towards her, disheveled and looking fearful of everything around him. She allowed him to come a few inches from her and he leaned forward, panting. Malekith's magic was keeping him from being at his best in this dream. He was lucky that the elf hadn't been using power strong enough to keep him out, though that might've been out of fear of what it would do to Darcy's mind. He pointed past her. "You told me we should never go there."

"What are you even doing here? You were going to let him kill me, he had wolves, er, dogs or something. What do you want now?" Darcy asked with irritation. She was a princess and something in her told her she was too important and needed at the castle to be talking with a simple trickster, particularly after his betrayal. He knelt and looked up at her pleadingly. She shook her head, a measure of unstoppable pity for him filling her. "Come on," she said, reaching down and taking him by the arm. "They can get you cleaned up in the palace. You can't look this way for my coronation." An excited and unnatural pink glow emitted from her as she grinned brightly. Loki stood and looked down at her in despair. She was well-taken in by this magic. She beamed up at him. "My coronation! I'm going to be a queen!"

"No, Darcy, this isn't the dream you think it is," he said through strained breath. He looked around, begging for her subconscious to raise some kind of sign that would make her question her surroundings. There were still dark clouds over the region, but clearly she was blind to them. Darcy began to lead the way happily to the castle and Loki followed, going over and over in his mind what he could do or say to stop this. They passed the happy peasants with warped and unrecognizable faces that Darcy seemed to see differently. The trickster gasped at such beautiful terrors as they reached the steps of the castle. His heart pounded madly as he felt Darcy's fluttering happily. Do something, you fool, say something . . . anything! She started up the steps to the castle as the enormous, ornate doors opened without hands grasping their handles. Just inside was the sight of Malekith in regal red attire, the same garb Loki had remembered seeing him as a child, with the starburst symbol of Svartalfheim's power emblazoned on his chest, half dark with death and destruction and half light with the potential to heal; just like the elf wearing it. Darcy grinned brightly at him, ignoring the trickster beside her, and hurried to make her way up the stairs.

A thought came to Loki from nowhere and he suddenly remembered the incident in Stuttgart. He reached out and snatched her firmly by the arm. Darcy turned to him and frowned. The trickster drew in a deep and deliberate breath, recalling word for word how she had defied him. Perhaps this would be the only way to break the spell's illusion, to remind her that she was more powerful than Malekith could hope to be, at least in theory. He looked firmly into her eyes and spoke softly. "Darcy," he said. "He has no power over you."

A strange shiver moved through her and she stared back at the trickster in disbelief. "What?" she whispered.

Loki grinned inwardly, triumphantly, but said nothing more than, "He has no power over you," once more and louder. She stayed perfectly still as the form of Malekith snarled before disappearing. She turned and looked up at the castle as the elf disappeared and the doors slammed shut. Loki smiled and gripped her more tightly, trying to pull her to him for a purifying kiss to break even more of the enchantment. Before he could move close enough, a loud clangor began to resound overhead. Flocks of the songbirds became ravens, cawing angrily as the dark clouds began to swirl. Darcy covered her ears and screamed, sinking to her knees. Loki frowned as the wind began to whip up around them furiously with heat. The gold of the palace and the verdant, beautiful kingdom surrounding them began to seemingly melt, then peel away into decaying orange and black structures stained with what must've been blood. The sirens overhead continued to sound incessantly, insanely. "What is this?!" Loki shouted.

"The darkness is coming!" Darcy shouted.

Loki noted that the clouds were not the only things swirling around and coming towards them, but he also saw one last part of the illusion, a lighted path leading back out into the plain that was the central part of her dreams. He quickly reached down and took hold of her, bolting in the direction of the light. He ran blindly, trying to move as quickly as he could but feeling as though he was barely able to walk. They made their way to the narrowing portal, the trickster praying to every power imaginable that they would make it through. It occurred to him that it was too small and he was to slow. His mind raced for a moment and then he glanced back at Darcy, gripping her arm more tightly and pulling her face close to his, speaking past the sound of the sirens. "You must not let him have you; fight him at every turn, at any cost!" he shouted. She looked at him sadly as he spoke a few last words, "Remember; he has no power over you!"

With that, he hurled her through the portal into the safe part of her own dreams. He breathed a sigh of relief as the portal closed around her, cutting off her scream of his name in terror . . . terror that he would be harmed. He could remedy that fear soon enough, but at least for the moment she was as safe as could be expected. He began to gag and cough at the acrid air filling his lungs and covered his ears as the sirens grew loudest. The heat around him grew too much to bear and he collapsed, silently screaming into the darkness. A blast of cold air hit his face and he gasped instantly at the relief while light filled his vision and strength seemed to fill his limbs. He forced himself to sit upright and found himself in the bed where he had been set to recover by the healers. He turned and glanced to the side, noting Jane still standing by him. He sighed with relief, but then hurriedly climbed off the bed, commanding his limbs to move and silently summoning Sleipnir to come immediately. Jane protested and began to call for help.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed. "You can't go anywhere! Not like this! I can't believe I'm saying this to an unwilling terrorist, but you need to rest!"

"No," he rasped, catching himself and steadying himself against a wall as he gratefully heard the familiar sound of Sleipnir's eight hooves clattering against marble. It wasn't the first time the stallion had been in the palace without the king's permission and at the horror of the queen and the usual gasps and screams from the servants followed as the beast burst into the room and raced to his mother's side. Loki gripped Sleipnir's bridle and looked at Jane firmly. "I have to save her before the darkness takes her."

(*)

The group of Midgardians and Asgardians alike looked with apprehension at the base of the darkened mountain. Rogers shifted uncomfortably and gripped the handle on his shield. Natasha drew in a deep breath, reminded of the stories of dwarves and goblins from the Black Forest and the Iron Hills that she had heard in her childhood. None of them were pleasant, but to be abducted by an elf was tantamount to death, a slow and painful one. Thor sighed heavily and gripped Mjolnir.

"Come," he said solemnly. "There is precious little time left."


	43. His Strategy

**Chapter 43: His Strategy**

"Ah, once again into battle and onward to glory!" Fandral shouted, unsheathing his sword as the group looked around the barren wasteland that was Svartalfheim. Thor put a hand firmly on his friend's chest, ordering him to stand down until they had considered how to approach the enemy. All of the Asgardian warriors stared at their friend in disbelief; Thor had always been headstrong and impulsive or, as Loki had so poignantly said: arrogant, reckless, and dangerous. Now he was going to plan ahead for battle? Volstagg, Sif, and even Hogun (though unseen) all smiled warmly at the prince's show of wisdom; a testament that he was now truly ready to become king. Fandral sighed and sheathed the sword with a small pout. "Very well then, how do we go about this?"

The warriors seemed to be, to Thor's relief, accepting of the position and appearance of the heroes from Midgard. All, that was, except Sif who was eyeing them with smoldering fury particularly aimed at the willowy and seemingly unarmed Natasha. Of course Thor knew that Natasha had abilities and hidden weapons that would've made Sif her closest companion in a heartbeat, but he had never heard the immortal words of Oscar Wilde who rightly said that, "Women only call each other sister after they've called each other a number of other things first." Instead, Thor was wary and also ready to come between the two if necessary, though he wagered that the assassin would have the drop on the Asgardian maid even with all her weaponry and training. He glanced over at Stark who didn't seem to be listening and was, instead, typing a number of things into a keypad that he had opened on the arm of one of his gauntlets.

"Man of Iron, does your technology have the power to . . ." Thor began.

"First of all, even though it sounds a little formal I'd prefer it if you'd call me Stark, or Mr. Stark, or The Incredible Mr. S instead of that 'Man of Iron' stuff," Stark replied with a wink. "And secondly, it doesn't just belong to me only; Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries, requires that I acknowledge the efforts of all employees and the shared ownership of Stark Industries itself with this technology."

"So in a nutshell it's 99% yours," Banner corrected.

"Actually 88%," Stark replied with a reminiscent grin at the memory of his conversation with Pepper as he donned his helmet quickly and shot straight into the air, holding out his arm with a strange red beam scanning the entire area. Thor smirked and winked at his companions, gesturing to Stark and explaining to them that he had the power to see beneath the surfaces of even the most impenetrable forces with his own creations and was both wiser than any sorcerer and more skilled at metal-craft than any dwarf. After a few beats and turning in all four cardinal directions, Stark landed and waited for a few beeps to alert him to something.

"And the Oscar goes to . . ." Stark said casually as he tapped a few buttons on the midsection of the armor and then withdrew a tablet computer. His helmet receded as the group gathered around and watched strange blue and green imagery appear on the screen . . . and above it. The warriors, who had never seen a calculator, let alone Three-Dimensional technology, gasped and moved closer, pulled away by Thor allowing Stark to widen the image so that all could clearly see the outlay of the inside of the mountain. "Jarvis, for his performance in 'gather all information about the outlay of the landscape display and identify all life-forms'. To accept the award on his behalf is Tony Stark who all of you can thank later with whatever I'm in the mood for at the time since apparently Asgard hasn't evolved enough to have Scotch or Shwarma."

"It looks like there are six entrances/exits aside from the main one and each one of them has a small horde of goblins inside, probably ready for a fight," Rogers began.

"Elves," Barton corrected. Every pair of eyes turned to him. "What? We're going up against magical creatures and all of them fight dirty in a different way; we might as well be clear about what we're going in to destroy."

"Great, so you want to give us any more details there, Tolkien?" Stark quipped. "You want to tell us what type they are and what language they speak?"

"They are Dokkaralf, Dark elves in your tongue and I believe Sindarin in the other you spoke of. They speak many languages including the common tongue which we are speaking now," Thor interjected. Stark glanced at him for a moment and shook his head. "That is slightly important, _**Mr. Stark**_, but Captain Rogers is right, we must be clear about our enemy. Malekith will be in the central chambers here with the strongest warriors and sorcerers around him. The drones and lesser warriors or sorcerers will be in these six outer chambers and their hallways as well." The four other Asgardians waited patiently for their stronger, royal leader to give them the plan of action; their eyes widened in amazement as he turned and gazed expectantly at Rogers. "What is your strategy, Captain?"

"His strategy?" Volstagg asked in confusion.

Thor turned back to him with a somber stare. "Captain Rogers is an effective and powerful soldier," Thor stated proudly. Rogers felt a measure of pride and camaraderie with the thunderer for a moment which grew as he continued. "His rank as Captain is his choice, elsewise he would be fully a general."

"Let's focus on the task, not the titles," Natasha corrected. She pointed to each of the warriors, Sif, herself, and Barton. "There's six of us not in positions of authority, imagined and otherwise, and six basic groups in those chambers there, so I think it's best we split up and try to take them out ourselves."

"Good thinking, but first things first, we need to make sure they can't get away," Rogers added, nodding to her. He turned to Banner quickly. "You've got the drop on any powerful creature here, Hulk up and take out all the entrances except for the main entrance which Thor, Stark, and I will take care of and head straight to take out the primary sources of protection and then go right after the pointy-eared bastard."

"Hulk up?" Fandral asked with a hearty laugh. "What kind of Midgardian magic is that? Does he become some sort of rock giant?"

Banner frowned at him and removed his glasses, handing them to Stark who slipped them into a compartment in his armor. The group of Midgardians and Thor waited for Banner to become his verdant and vitriolic alter ego. Banner stayed perfectly still and then his brown eyes grew wide in fear. "I-I-I, just can't seem to do it," he said in shock.

The expression on every face of The Avengers fell and Thor stepped forward. "Is it Malekith's magic? What prevents you?"

Banner looked around and groaned. "It must be the weird sunlight here; there's not enough radiation or there's some kind of counter-radiation," he explained. _Figures we couldn't use him when we really needed him again, nothing ever works out for us the first time the way we want it to_, Natasha's voice said. Banner's eyes widened. Natasha's voice. _I knew it was false trickery; Midgardians are weak and weak-minded_, Sif's mind added as she glanced in Stark's direction, _and apparently very __**arrogant**_. Banner rubbed his head and drew in a deep breath. _Well, at least he's still smarter than I am, that's going to come in handy_, Stark's thoughts announced which made Banner smile a little. _This isn't a problem, we still have Thor and he can do just about as much damage with his hammer_, Rogers' thoughts said. Banner smirked. "You're right; that hammer was too strong for even the other guy to pick up. It'll do the trick getting all the entrances taken out."

The group, entirely, looked at Banner in shock as Rogers stepped forward. "Dr. Banner . . . did you hear me thinking that?" he asked cautiously.

"Looks like my 'uniqueness' is even more strange on this world," he replied with a brighter smile. It felt wonderful to still be in control and to now also have a useful power to control as well.

"Alright then, slight alteration. Thor, you take out the six auxiliary entrances with your hammer. Natasha, Barton, and you four will each take on one of the six chambers and then out into the hallways. As soon as you're done with your own, head to the left and help the person next to you; if they're done, keep going left until the area's completely clear," Rogers ordered, glancing at each with a nod. Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun nodded in return as did Barton and Natasha, but Sif continued to look agitated and unsure of this. Rogers ignored this and turned to Stark and Banner. "Since we've got more of the mind power and this guy's got magic, we'll take out his defenses and then take him on. Thor, when you're done making the place inescapable, come and help take out this cretin's personal guard with us so that we can get to the real task, saving Darcy Lewis."

"Darcy Lewis is not yours to save," a new voice announced through a flash of light, followed by a familiar whinny and a clattering of eight hooves. The group turned as Loki rode up proudly, his arm still minimally bandaged, but looking fit to join the fight at least in spirit. "I will deal with Malekith myself. I am, after all, the only real sorcerer among you, Captain, though the talents of Mr. Stark will inevitably prove useful as he will have the element of surprise."

"That's an interesting complement," Stark said with a smirk. "I'll take it."

"You'll do more than that," Loki rasped, urging Sleipnir closer. "You'll put it to good use as I tell you or Malekith will make short work of your suffering."

"That will be difficult, brother," Thor interjected. The group and the trickster turned to him. Thor smiled. "Remember Malekith's weaknesses are the same of any other faerie creature, ljosaralf, dokkaralf, and the fey all become feeble and cannot resist the unnatural harshness of metals like iron and steel."

"That's right," Natasha remembered aloud from all the things she had heard in her youth. "Steel will actually burn the flesh of an elf or a fairy because it's a combination metal, it's unnatural."

"And iron was used to trap magic; that's why it was used in ceremonies to seal in life forces of enemies and sacrifices for Pagans and Druids," Barton added. Again the group looked at him in shock. He glared back. "Stop gawking at me every time I say something smart. Pick up a book, why don't ya?"

"Enough!" Loki snarled. He pressed his heels against Sleipnir and gave his son a silent command. The horse replied proudly, hiding his fear, and reared back on his four backmost legs, neighing loudly and striking outward with his frontmost legs as well. "To your tasks, all of you, or the battle is for naught!"

Sleipnir slammed his front hooves back onto the ground and bounded up the pathway leading to the mountain's entrance. The rest of the group drew in a deep breath at different intervals as Thor withdrew the journeystone and held it out for them. "If you remember the chamber you were assigned on the image of light as strongly as you can, you shall appear there," he said, looking towards Stark and the Captain. Stark took Rogers by the arm and nodded to him.

"Actually, we'll follow old Slippy there; wouldn't want to get the hero before horse would we?" he joked. No one laughed, but Thor smirked and watched as Rogers climbed onto Stark's back, shield in hand tightly, and the two flew off in the same direction Loki had made atop Sleipnir. Stark shouted back to them as they rocketed away, "Have fun storming the castle!"

"Indeed," Fandral said with enthusiasm, placing his own hand on the stone.

The rest of the group did the same and, with a flash of light and a great blast of energy leaving the stone with Thor, each of the six other heroes appeared in their respective positions. All six, that was, except for Sif who had concentrated on Natasha and hid herself in the shadows as the assassin headed into the chamber she was assigned. The Asgardian didn't trust that this flimsy weaponless woman could do half the damage that Sif had proven herself capable of, but luckily for this Midgardian Sif was willing to be there to aid at any cost. Thor appeared just within the first of the six superfluous exits. He noticed a scout who screamed and began to run off to warn the rest of the fortress that Asgard had sent its strongest warrior. Thor hurled Mjolnir at him, sending him crashing to the ground. As the hammer returned to the massive hand of its owner, Thor turned. With a loud grunt he slammed the hammer into the key column holding up the entrance and watched it collapse with relish. He smiled and gripped the journeystone once more, breathing excitedly as he appeared at the next doorway.

(*)

Darcy awoke in a cold sweat and panted heavily, grasping her head and pulling her knees to her chest defensively as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Just as it had felt long before she had taken her first sip of water, the touch felt both eerie and soothing all at once. She turned and gasped at the suddenly now not so attractive form of Malekith looking at her in deep concern.

"You've awakened so suddenly," he observed. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

"Your majesty," Darcy said anxiously. "I think Loki was trying to tell me something, I think he still doesn't trust what's happening here," she said, her tone alerting Malekith to the notion that she also was beginning to lose complete trust in what was transpiring. He hid the snarl that was forming at this revelation. She sat forward and looked more closely at him, describing the dream which both seemed to shock and irritate him. She frowned. "But I know it had to be a trick, it had to be something else. He's been trying to get inside my dark place since we first shared a dream. That was it, it must've been," she realized. Malekith said nothing, summoning several sorcerers and guards through a mind link so that Darcy could not hear him. She breathed heavily and fidgeted with her hands anxiously. "Besides, you promised you wouldn't hurt me or take my powers," she recited almost accurately. She looked back at him. "Right?"

"My dear, my lovely Darcy," he said with overly necessary smoothness, stroking her head tenderly. She shuddered at his touch as his hand strayed down to her cheek and lingered against it, cupping her chin and the side of her face in his hand. "Of course I mean you no harm and I most certainly promised that you would meet with no harm at all at my hands or the hands of those that serve me," he said with a genuine tone that was too soft to not be hiding something sinister. Darcy swallowed hard as his blue eyes began to glow a fierce, icy azure. "But I never once said I did not plan to take your power. In fact, I have planned how best and gently to extract it from the moment your powers were revealed to me in the throne room," he added in a much more threatening tone. Darcy sat back as he smiled brightly. "Not to worry, my little treasure, you won't feel a thing . . . ever again."

Darcy shrieked and leapt off the bed at the opposite side, bolting for the doorway on the other side of the room. She fumbled with the handle as Malekith stood slowly, his robes gathering around him along with a field and aura of strong magic. She finally turned the handle, breathing a brief sigh of relief that became an instant gasp of terror. Several other elves, still in their masks, seized her by the arms and shoulders. She screamed and fought as best she could, reaching for her taser instinctively. She was able to withdraw it and send two of the elves to the ground, trembling and gagging beneath the masks until a hand behind her snatched it away deftly. She turned and growled at the form of Malekith who looked over the weapon with amusement. "And this is what brought down the mighty Thor and the artful Loki," he said coolly. "Pity that its power will shortly be diminished too greatly. Its supply is, after all, as limited as your mortal strength," he said still holding it. He nodded to several of the elves behind her who, once again, seized her with ease and dragged her backwards despite her formidable struggling.

"This isn't what elves are supposed to do!" Darcy shouted at no one in particular, just simply wanting to state what she felt was a terrible example of this kind of creature. "If you hate humans you just walk in and start killing us, if you're indifferent you send us on our way, but you don't bring them in and offer them hospitality like some kind of spider luring a fly into its web! That's just . . . deranged!"

"I'm afraid you've neglected much of your mortal literature on the subject of our kind," Malekith replied as the elves holding her managed to pull her onto what must've been a table either used for medical procedures or other procedures that involved cutting and a complete lack of anesthesia. She shrieked and continued to writhe against the bonds that they quickly fastened over her. This was clearly used more for torture than surgeon's needs with restraints like this, she thought. Malekith approached more closely. "You see, our kind have been abducting and doing what we will with your kind for centuries," he said almost kindly, gesturing to one of the elves who went over to a set of cabinets and a working table and began mixing fluids and powders into a potion. She gulped at realizing it must've been meant for her. "That was until the ruler of the elves of your world formed a partial alliance with Odin and I lost the privilege of the company of your kind for quite some time. My banishment to the outerworlds was not permanent and when the All-Father saw that I had the power to escape even Helheim, he took other precautions and I, well, I rather gave up on trying to toy with the simple hearts and minds of mortals. There were other things to tend to, after all," he explained.

"The Othala, you see, were creatures guided by the elves of Alfheim, Midgard, and Svartalfheim depending on their gifts. Those that had great talent left mortal kind to live among them, hence the lack of numbers in their midst, though you are living proof that some of you just couldn't control yourselves genetically," he said with a laugh. Darcy watched him approach a large, ornate cabinet and use a key to unlock it. Within were instruments of glass and silver, none of them looking pleasant or meant for any sort of healing. Malekith carefully selected a crystalline oddment with a long, curved end that would form a bauble of energy when its target was reached. He smiled and looked it over fondly before approaching her slowly. "There were those that had sway over the elements, the body itself, the heart, time and space, the mind and spirit, and some," he said gazing at her with hunger she had never even seen in a wild beast. "With powers that combined many of them all at once. The Alfheim elves abandoned the notion of guiding them early on, believing they would not hold their powers sacred and that they would lose interest and ability shortly," he said leaning over hear almost hovering with his face right over hers. "But they were wrong." He stood upright and motioned for the elf that had mixed the potion to come forward. Darcy groaned and strained against the sturdy leather straps holding her wrists, midsection, and ankles in place.

"It may take a moment to finish combining properly," the elf said in a hushed tone. "But once administered it will do all that you require of it."

"Good," Malekith said, stroking Darcy's head despite her struggling as affectionately as the prideful owner of a Bengal Tiger even when it bore its teeth. He sighed. "Unfortunately, many of the Othala began to believe that with their gifts humankind and magical kind should be united, and neither the king of the elves of Midgard nor I approved of this. Of course, his notion was to simply capture and detain all that remained of their kind, but I, I was more merciful. I had great plans to bring many of you here, to breed you properly and make sure you reached your full potential."

"You're a monster," Darcy snarled, suddenly remembering Loki's words. She looked directly into Malekith's eyes and spoke flatly. "And you have no power over me."

"I don't need power over you, not at the moment," he replied in a similar tone. "Your mortal form is weak and susceptible to the simplest of potions, particularly after you foolishly ate from the table of a magical creature. But back to your history; the king of Midgard's elves became furious with me, as did so many others, and sent word to the All-Father. Odin made war with my people, banished me to Helheim from which I escaped and then tried to imprison me here in part of my own world set beside his own, and then sent warriors to slaughter what was left of your kind. Now this did not sit well with the king of Midgard's elves, but Odin never really was good at diplomacy and I am quite sure it would please the rest to know that you survived Odin's treachery even if it meant that you bore ties to my plans to begin with."

"So that's why he wants me dead," she realized aloud. She turned and glared hatefully at Malekith. "It isn't because he's afraid of me or my powers or me becoming evil . . . he thinks I'm working for you or that you'll get the chance to use my powers for your weird, evil schemes!"

"How very clever to have realized this at last," Malekith said with feigned pride, motioning once more to the other elf still holding the potion. The two held her head firmly and pried open her jaw, pouring in the liquid slowly. Darcy tried her best not to swallow it although it tasted sweet and wonderful and felt so cool and soothing. Everything that seems good here must be dark and evil somehow, she realized. She gagged and tried to keep from swallowing, but to her dismay, Malekith and the other sorcerer had more than a mere superficial knowledge of the human body and within a few seconds she had been forced to swallow all of it, unable to regurgitate a drop. Malekith smiled and placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "And now it begins. You shall simply go off to sleep for a time, and I," he held the crystalline oddment aloft once more. "Will take swiftly what I need from within you."

Darcy screamed madly at the sight of the object, realizing what he meant by retrieving it from within. "You're crazy! Everyone everywhere but earth is crazy!" she screamed. Malekith lifted a brow at her as she continued to struggle, although losing strength to do so by the minute as the potion took hold. Tears began to stream down her cheeks in desperation. She felt the presence and powerful link to Loki broken, unable to even call to him for help now. "Please, please don't do this," she begged.

"There, there, my dear," Malekith soothed, stroking her head gently. Darcy stared back at him pleadingly as he softly pushed her head back against the surface of the table, a place with a small cushion to oddly keep the prisoner's head from receiving too much discomfort and damage against the wood. "This won't hurt at all, I assure you."

"Why does everyone out here act like the only objection humans have to being used is whether or not it's painful?!" she cried, trying to force his hand away. She groaned when she discovered she was too weak to do so. Malekith reached down and placed a hand over hers as she struggled to stay alert. "Please don't do this, please! I don't even want to use these powers."

"And you won't," Malekith replied calmly, placing a hand on her chest as she continued to fight to keep her eyes open. "When you awaken you won't have to worry about these powers plaguing you ever again. You will be rejuvenated and entirely changed. Everything that would've made you one of them," he said, smiling brightly as her eyelids grew too heavy to hold open. ". . . will belong to me."

"Please; I just want to go home," she whimpered, a few tears streaming from her eyes even closed. "Please just let me go back."

"When you have relinquished this magic to me, I will release you," he said kindly, though Darcy knew now that the kindness was just as faint and faltering as the rest of the glamour he used. She wondered for a beat if there was, in fact, any part of him that had ever known tenderness and mercy. He heard this and chuckled softly without speaking the correct answer aloud which was 'not ever'. Darcy drew in one last firm, alert breath, and then like the hold she had on the side of the cliff in Asgard, her grip grew slack on consciousness and she fell silently into her inner void. Malekith smiled and touched the side of her face with affection for the virtues he was harvesting from her.

"Now, my dear, I shall have everything you might've used to deter me and my kind from your destruction and the conquest of your world. What a lovely companion you'll make; mindless and obedient at my side. And what a fitting name for my pet; Darcy, it means 'dark one'," he mused. His ears began to burn and the tips twitched anxiously as he sensed the presence of Asgardians and . . . other humans. He growled and turned to the nearest drone. "Strengthen the forces in the defenses; I sense the seed of Odin and his kindred. Bring whatever creatures have invaded my home to me," he ordered. The elf bowed and nodded. "Alive or otherwise."


	44. In the Halls of the Mountain King

_(((So a lot happened this past week including finally getting an entry-level position in the field I studied for and that feels pretty awesome. Wish it were just as awesome for this group, but at least it's up and kicking which is where everyone likes to be. Now that Darcy is in need of defeating the 'dark place' Loki will have his hands full denying the darkness that he's grown accustomed to with Thanos. Now it gets interesting!)))_

**Chapter 44: In the Halls of the Mountain King**

The group looked with apprehension at their specific portion of the darkened mountain as the light cleared for them. Rogers shifted uncomfortably and gripped the handle on his shield. Natasha drew in a deep breath, reminded of the stories of dwarves and goblins from the Black Forest and the Iron Hills that she had heard in her childhood. None of them were pleasant, but to be abducted by an elf was tantamount to death, a slow and painful one. While the darkness itself was overwhelming to the group, the darkness that Darcy was sifting through was even more deafening. Loki felt his own heart thundering terribly as he rode Sleipnir through the halls and did his best to follow the traces of Darcy's thready pulse. A cold, sickening sweat began to pour over him as he realized that not only was Darcy at Malekith's mercy, but he could distinctly feel the strange fizzling of Asgard's magic. His father's sorcerers must've been hard at work in order to find her which was something Odin himself would've done had he not been weakened by the trauma Loki had created on Midgard.

The younger prince drew in all of his strength and pressed forward. In the meantime, Thor easily crushed one passage after another, swiftly traversing the back tunnels of the fortress until he reached the main hall. He smirked as he heard the familiar shrieking of angry dark elves, shouting in their own tongue to 'kill the Asgardian quickly'. He gripped Mjolnir and smiled as he advanced towards them. "Today will not be a good one in Svartalfheim," Thor said to himself and then smiled. "Not for the elves!"

(*)

At the same time, Hogun had immediately devised a method and dispatched all 30 elves waiting in the room. He had leapt deftly into its very center, waiting patiently for all to notice him and draw their weapons, snarling and seething. Despite the crushing darkness, Hogun quickly retrieved his flail and, setting it out to full length, smashed the skull of the first elf to leap at him. He twirled around and decapitated another. He twirled once more, slaying a third and continued swirling around and around. His flail flew through the air as his toned muscles obeyed every precise command appearing as the chaos of a Whirling Dervish to an outside viewer, but a servant to the order he kept so soberly within him at all times. As the last elf fell and he knew he was finished, he stopped for a moment and plopped down on the floor to catch his breath. He listened carefully and remembered the Midgardian's orders, head to the left to find the next companion. As he quickly rose and made haste for the inner halls, turning to the left he heard the familiar sound of brash chortling. Fandral, he realized, and likely not winning despite the victorious laughter.

Fandral was having considerable difficulty with the 50 elves who had attacked him. With only a small sword and acrobatics, the dark elves' numerous weapons and even simply their ferocity in attacking him without them, seemed too great in the darkness. Fandral was unlike most Asgardians in the sense that something in a fever had taken much of his sight from him as a child, making his vision secretly comparable to only a human, but not nearly as keen as his kindred. The lack of vision had, instead of creating a frightened little boy, fueled a spark of life and given birth to the brash and often self-admiring creature that Hogun now saw doing his best to obey the commands of Captain Rogers. The mirrors offered Fandral something he loved, glistening light, and it allowed him the clearest of vision, though that could not be said to have been his primary reason for consulting the silvered surfaces. Silver and gold glistened in a few of the corners of this room, Hogun realized, which did give Fandral more light than the previous room had seen. It had been fitting that the charming swashbuckler had landed right in the elf-king's treasury.

Fandral locked sword to axe with one of the elves and with a loud grunt kicked it backwards, sending it flying into several barrels of treasure as Hogun watched. The stack of barrels that the elf's head was now embedded in looked sturdy and had probably seen some years of collecting. Hogun smirked. Throughout all of those years, none of the elves charged with watching over the king's treasure or collecting it had been any good at architecture or engineering which meant the taller the structure, the more chance for injury. Hogun eyed the stack carefully as Fandral continued to parry attacks with loud noise, also an aid in the darkness, until he was sure he saw a sure weakness in the core of the barrels themselves. He extended his flail and leapt high into the air, well over his friend's head, and landed deftly at the base of the pile, taking a huge swipe at it as several elves noticed his presence.

Before they could attack, a cascade of gold and jewels came crashing out of innumerable barrels worn over centuries like a massive wave finally released from a dam. Hogun leapt forward, past the crest of the wave and landed beside his friend, seizing him by the sleeve and racing towards the doorway without hesitation. Fandral let out a cry of surprise as they suddenly skidded to a halt in the hallway and watched the wave of treasure fill the rest of the room. One of the elves that had tried to follow them reached out in vain as it lay with its midsection up free from the treasure and struggling to breathe in the halls. Fandral looked towards Hogun and winked, kicking the pile once so that a smaller cascade covered what was left of the attacker.

"Fools gold," Fandral said as he smiled at his friend and grasped his arm gratefully. "Every last coin."

"All gold is a fool's if he thinks to leave it in another's care," Hogun added with a gratified smile. They hurried to the next room, sensing that Volstagg and the two humans were not anywhere nearby. Fandral's heart sank as they stared at the entranceway and into a void as well. No, the humans and Volstagg had their own posts and it had seemed that this one had been left abandoned. Fandral turned to Hogun in dismay. The other frowned and looked back at his friend. "Sif did not come here."

"I can see that," Fandral said as a pair of yellow-green eyes began to glow in the darkness followed by guttural growling and two more pairs. He swallowed hard and forced himself to speak the next few words aloud both as confirmation and comfort. "Sif was never here."

(*)

Natasha angrily glared at the Asgardian standing behind her. She had heard Sif lurking behind her for a few beats now and had been merciless as she turned and attacked whoever was following her, though she had a very good idea of who it was given the sound of the footsteps and breathing that accompanied the dark figure. Sif shoved her forward as Natasha slowly put down the gun that she had used to finally pistol-whip the woman that had been making her uncomfortable since arriving on an already uncomfortable planet. "What the heck is wrong with you?" Natasha demanded furiously.

"I do not trust you, any of you," Sif snorted indignantly. "And neither should Thor."

"That's pretty bold coming from a citizen of the world that brought us Loki and his magic-wonder horse," Natasha shot back.

"I spoke briefly with Thor about all of you, and even the spy of an ally should not be trusted," Sif snarled.

"And who was one fifth responsible for the high treason that leveled a town in New Mexico?" Natasha asked angrily, turning away before Sif could answer. That gesture alone was infuriating enough to make Sif take her sword to the smaller Midgardian, but at the moment having the last word was significantly more important than destroying the face that had displeased her. Natasha noted the large cavernous opening to the room, dark and foreboding within. She raised her weapon and glanced in then stood back against the entranceway, loading the weapon more properly. "There's at least 60 of them, all with long-range weapons and not the Middle Earth kind, either; exploding ammunition will be more effective."

"I might've betrayed the King Regent of Asgard, but if you recall, at the moment it was Loki. Have you met him?" Sif asked, sounding more feminine than any of her friends had heard before.

"Met him, interrogated him, verbally slapped him after he called me the 'q' word," Natasha replied. Sif stared at her in surprise. Natasha huffed and pushed the woman backwards to stand beside her. She glanced in the room once more and sighed heavily. "Wait here and don't make a sound," Natasha warned. Sif began to protest as Natasha rolled her eyes. "Fine, do whatever Xena Warrior Princess stuff makes you feel less helpless than your shattered emotional health clearly makes you," Natasha added before taking aim. "Just stay out of the way."

"Stay out of mine," Sif growled, darting into the room and withdrawing a large sword and raising her shield as the elves noticed her. Natasha sighed heavily and fired one bullet behind the Asgardian and to the left, hoping that left enough room to avoid any serious injuries on the woman. The explosion caused Sif to duck down and raise the shield defensively, squinting and crouching as the elves that weren't killed by the falling debris shrieked in terror and pain. Natasha moved past the form of Sif still crouching and took more effective aim, firing once more. The blast was intense; so intense that Sif felt it shake the ground, but the mortal seemed oddly sturdy. This infuriated her all the more. She stood and raced past the mortal after hearing another small 'bang' from the gun that would inevitably be followed by an even louder 'boom'. Natasha saw Sif run directly towards the bullet's trajectory path and tried to catch her by the shoulders, bringing her to the ground just as the explosion took effect. Sif stood after a few seconds of the ringing in her ears became somewhat lessened, pleased that Natasha hadn't been able to move after they hit the ground. She suddenly froze at the realization; Natasha hadn't been able to move after they hit the ground? She whirled around and knelt, terrified at the sight that she had in her mind expected to see that now met her. She gasped and pulled a few pieces of debris away from her and slew the remaining three elves with one swipe of her sword. She heard Natasha cough and groan.

"Can anyone hear me?" she said into the darkness. Sif moved closer to her. "I'm hit."

"Hit?" Agent Barton's voice said from out of nowhere. Sif looked around in confusion, not able to see the man anywhere. "Hit by what?"

"Does it matter? It happened taking them out," she muttered. "We're not far from you according to my monitor, two rooms left of you."

"We?!" Barton said in even greater surprise. Natasha heard a loud, thundering boom over the mic, sure that his arrows were surprising even the advanced creatures here. "Who else is there with you?"

"Not important, just get someone here who can put some gauze on this so I can walk," she grumbled. Sif tried to locate the wound and suddenly felt Natasha grab her wrist, shaking terribly. Whether it was from pain or blood-loss or both, Sif couldn't be sure at the moment, but she was sure that the mortal lying on the ground had done more than a fair share of dealing swiftly with the enemy and it was beyond impressive. Natasha forced Sif's hand over her ribcage on her left side a good distance below the breastbone. She pressed it in and looked up at her firmly. "Don't stop putting pressure on it and don't you dare start making comments about my race or my realm."

"I won't," Sif replied in a stunned whisper, still unsure of what else to do. This woman had not behaved the way she had seen mortals do in the past. Instead, she glanced back at the doorway and waited as patiently as possible for the mortal that had clearly chosen to protect this woman appeared. Agent Barton was one of the few humans that Sif had seen and been sure he could handle himself. There was an aura of strength about him and his senses were clearly superior to most of the others' around him. She glanced back down at Natasha remorsefully for a beat. At least none of her own companions were far away and if need be the other human could put the pressure over the wound while she retrieved a healing stone from Hogun or Fandral. Sif prayed silently that this wouldn't be necessary and felt her heart leap as a figure appeared in the doorway. It began to sink again as she noted that it wasn't human.

(*)

Stark had been able to follow Sleipnir's movements and speed when he had chosen to, but had cut them off from flying as soon as a small host of the dark elves had attacked in the main entranceway. Loki managed to make it past them, but the trio of humans left to fight were not in the same situation. Dr. Banner hung back and tried to keep out of the way, unable to add anything to the fray that would be useful at the moment. He frowned, noting that while he could still hear thoughts he wasn't getting any closer to having his previous gifts restored. _Never thought I'd miss the other guy_, he thought to himself. _Then again, never thought I'd be off fighting dark cyber-elves on this side of Galafrey_.

"And one for good luck," Stark announced, hurling a small missile into the hallway and taking out several guards. He turned back to the other two. "Alright, back to the chase. Come on."

"I hear the horse not far away, we're going the right way," Rogers announced. He gripped his shield and clutched Stark's arm as Banner did the same on the other side. "Let's hurry; I'm not sure we'll have enough time if she's got two groups out to get her and only one and a half on her side."

"Working on that," Stark said unhappily as they began to fly forward again.

(*)

"Go and watch the door," Malekith said firmly to two of the elves directly across from him. The two stormed away and stood angrily in front of the door as Malekith returned his attention to Darcy. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully which was acceptable for the moment, although he knew that beneath the calm surface she was in a torrent of confusion and distress. Even without the physical trauma she was internally horrified and powerless to do anything to stop it. Malekith nodded to the elf nearest him who withdrew a dagger and cut a long tear in the neck of her shirt, pulling it apart effortlessly. The potion she had been given acted primarily to sedate a troublesome human. In addition, it acted as a form of 'tracing dye'. He watched carefully as her heart and its related vessels began to glow under her flesh. She shifted as the drone assisting the pensive king with this task undid the restraints over her. There was no sense in keeping them in place when they were unnecessary and only served to impede the other's aim. Malekith placed a hand beneath her heart and felt for the pulse that carried a signature of magic. He smiled as it resounded for him like a specific tone from a whale song and began to follow its presence to the nerve plexus it came from. "Always a source of power," he muttered as it led him to a cluster of nerves just above her solar plexus. She groaned as he decided on the best angle to enter. He gaged the protective barrier of energy around it and finally placed the end of the glass oddment against her. In the darkness she felt the sharp stinging of the glass entering her; it was reminiscent of the injection she had received from Dr. Selvig only on a much larger scale, as if over a hundred needles at once were puncturing her flesh and sending a cold stab practically throughout her entire body from the bloodless incision and the object forcing its way into the delicate bundle of vessels. He could feel the scream she wanted to release still painfully swirling around within her. He frowned and nodded once more to the assistant who quickly turned and fetched another potion. "Give it to her before we go any further."

The doors to the room suddenly collapsed on top of the two elves guarding it as the enormous Sleipnir bounded over them and into the center of the entrance, rearing up and whinnying furiously. Loki urged him back to all eight legs and then jumped to the ground as if his shoulder and arm had never been wounded. Malekith snarled and snatched the potion away with his free hand and gestured towards the trickster. The remaining elf turned and headed straight for the Asgardian, meeting with a strong, solid blow to the skull. The adrenaline still pumping through the trickster's body made him unaware of the bruise that would form in a few moments and instead he readied to deal another to Malekith halting as he was addressed directly.

"Don't come any closer, it could kill her," Malekith warned. Loki snarled at him and noticed the object in his hand. "It's too late, she has already revealed it to me. If you interfere it will mean her death."

"Only if I had never been skilled in their weaknesses," Loki replied, now advancing more sternly towards the elf. Malekith frowned and noted that the trickster was unyielding and the particular phase in the procedure was still reversible, though he didn't expect Loki to know this. At the moment, it didn't matter to the trickster what happened at Malekith's hands as long as he was stopped. The elf wasn't likely to tell the truth and Darcy wasn't likely to be so easily undone. Malekith frowned and slammed the glass object more firmly into her. Loki heard the inner scream of pain from her as Malekith held the other potion aloft. "I can stop the pain; if it continues, she will be forever changed. That much you already know to be true."

Loki froze and considered this for a moment. He remembered what he hadn't shown anyone else and that Malekith had seen it firsthand in his mind; the torture and months of misery that felt like years that Thanos had visited on him. He put out one hand. "Give it to her," he said firmly.

"Once this is complete," Malekith replied.

"No, you fool, now," Loki retorted. Malekith grinned wickedly and tightened his grip on the glass as a bright blue light filled it. Loki's eyes widened for a beat and he instinctively reached for one of his daggers shouting for the elf to stop. Malekith stared in disbelief, distracted for a moment, as one of the daggers had magically made it into the trickster's hand and spun into the glass, shattering it. The glass turned to clear liquid once mixed for the purpose of making the object, and the blue light shrank back into Darcy who screamed all the louder from within. The trickster lunged for phial in Malekith's hand and was quickly repelled by a burst of energy from the enraged creature. Loki steadied himself and stood as the three mortals entered the room, each taking a position near him. "What, no recourse for this?" Loki chided. "You are an insular creature, Malekith, as all elves are wont to be."

"She might've trusted you," Malekith seemed to muse, aloof to having been denied the power Darcy held at the trickster's hands. "Now she will have only torment to remind her of who abandoned her here."

"Sir, put down your weapons and back away from the victim," Rogers said firmly. Malekith turned to him and sneered. Stark raised both hands and allowed his arsenal to appear. "Or you will be met with extreme force."

"I am standing over her," Malekith said proudly. Rogers glanced over his shoulder and nodded to Stark who nodded in reply. One of the missiles lightly loosed itself from the launch mechanism and flew silently towards the elf. "Would you really risk any harm to . . ."

BOOM!

"Yes," Stark said retracting the rest of the gear and moving forward with the others. Banner hurried past them to see about Darcy's vital signs as Loki lunged for Malekith on the ground once more. "Yes, I would, pointy."

"Doctor Banner, is she still . . ." Rogers began.

"She's in distress and I don't see any signs of any external or internal bleeding," Banner announced. He frowned. "But her heartbeat is crazy and her breathing is too shallow. She's in shock somehow."

Loki wrestled with the unusually unsettled elf and finally wrenched the phial free of his pale hand, now feeling the bruise from the first elf he had taken down forming as he slammed his fist into Malekith's head. He stood, breathing heavily, and hurried back to Darcy, quickly pouring the potion in. He sighed and waited a few beats, keeping a hand over her chest as he felt her heart rate slowing. Banner frowned after a few moments. "I don't know what that was, but it stopped the shock," Banner observed. "It just doesn't seem to be waking her up."

Loki frowned and placed a hand over her head, feeling for the dreams as he had done when first trying to discern how she had eluded the scepter's magic. He looked over at the others. "She's trapped," he said sadly. "In the darkness."

"What do we do now? That other spell from Asgard will finish the job if he got halfway, right?" Rogers asked. He was still unsure of how all of this worked to begin with. "This is your department and you kind of helped create this problem, so fix it."

"It wouldn't be a problem if she knew how to dispel their wretched nonsense," Loki hissed back.

"Yeah, well, there aren't a lot of people around here who can teach her how to do that especially not while she's still asleep," Stark corrected. He sighed. "We just have to get her out of here."

"No," Loki said firmly. He turned back to Darcy and sighed heavily. There is only time enough to dispel the darkness yourself and their magic, he told himself. The lesson for magic itself will have to come later, but you must find out how to dispel the darkness around her before anything else. He turned slowly to face the others. "Hit me."

"Business before pleasure," Stark replied. "Fix it."

"I cannot undo this in the waking world," he explained in frustration.

"Unconsciousness isn't sleep, that wouldn't be helping if that's what you need," Banner added.

"Oh I hardly think this one could do enough damage to render me that incapacitated," Loki retorted scornfully. Stark frowned at him practically glowing with the words, 'want to bet'. "But suffering another blow, as small as his might be, would re-ignite what the healers began and I would be able to help her from within."

"Within what?" Rogers asked.

"Dreams," Loki replied.

"We don't have time for that," Stark replied.

"You're not the expert here," Rogers corrected, turning slowly back to their foe turned ally for the moment. "And all you need is one hit to get there?" he asked. Loki nodded slowly. Rogers reared back with the shield as he had done in Germany, slamming it harshly into the side of the trickster's head and breathing sharply. "Done." The trickster sank backwards and felt the world begin to spin uncontrollably around him, growing darker. _Perfect_, he thought as he slipped back into the calm embrace of suspended animation. The soft, steady heartbeat of his central focus caught his attention and he followed it quickly. The screams were still echoing in the background, but that would soon be at an end. As the trickster moved further into Darcy's consciousness, Rogers turned back to the others. They stared at him in awe. "What?"


	45. A Wellspring of Shadows

**Chapter 45: A Wellspring of Shadows**

On Asgard, Frigga had been alerted by a furious Jane to Odin's plan. Of course at the moment, Jane wasn't as mad at Thor for leaving without saying goodbye as she would've been hours before. After all, she had gone to sit with his brother willingly. Frigga, on the other hand, was a volatile mixture of terror and fury as she flew into the chamber where Odin had gathered the hesitant and disbelieving sorcerers. Few had reason to doubt the All-Father's claim that an Othala was at the hands of Malekith, but the further reasoning of the king that this Othala had been behind Loki's obvious brainwashing and attack on earth. Had Jane and not Frigga or the sorcerers been within earshot of the old Aesir's claim, Odin would've found himself laid out cold on the ground with a single blow. Fortunately, Frigga's concern was to stop the ordeal, not reprimand her husband physically. As she shouted at the sorcerers and even threw one of them violently towards the doors, the room quickly cleared and became very silent once more. Odin stared in shock at his queen and then narrowed his eye.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"I am preventing yet another of your mistakes that you would have regretted for an eternity, Odin," Frigga shot back. He approached her, clearly as enraged and frightened as she was, perhaps more so. "Do not think for one moment that destroying that mortal's spirit will solve any of this. The reason for his actions has yet to be fully revealed. I only saw . . ."

"You saw enough!" Odin shouted. Frigga looked back at him hurt by these words. Her vision of where their younger son had been was vague, but she had made known his intentions and that was enough to prompt sending Thor to Midgard. "And yet you did not see this treacherous creature. That is why I am king; I _**can**_ see these beings and know best how to dispose of them."

"How dare you justify that slaughter you committed . . . again!" Frigga shouted, even angrier now at the thought of his still righteous indignation at an entire generation of essentially children based upon the actions of a few. She had thought after hearing his words to their sons, that he had learned his lesson and that the actions of but a few should not be held against their entire race. No, Odin, was beyond reason right now and Frigga hoped she knew the reason. She suddenly reached out and grasped his helmet, yanking it off and throwing it to the side before taking hold of either side of his head in her hands and pulling his brow to lean against hers. She breathed deeply and willed her own calm and resolve into him, giving him the freedom to allow a few tears to stream from his eye as he closed it and embraced her. "I know you want him home; that you want him to come back alive and forget the madness that happened before the Bifrost was destroyed. He will return, Odin, both of them will. You must trust that these Midgardians and our warriors will do what they can for both of them and return them safely."

"He will never call me 'father' again," Odin whispered sadly. "Not while his mind is still poisoned by this insanity. All I want is our family restored, I just want him to come home and know how much . . ."

Frigga put her fingertips over her husband's mouth, silencing a gut-wrenching fear that practically crippled the old man more than his age or the loss of his eye. He embraced her more tightly. "The other mortal has been his companion; a source of reason, according to Thor's mortal woman. Loki's desire to retrieve her proves that she draws whatever venom was within him out at sundry times, making him all the better." She stroked her husband's snow white hair gently away from his face and wiped away a few tears. "In time, when the poison is drawn away entirely . . . he will call you king and father once more."

"I should have gone myself," Odin said, shaking his head sadly. "I should have brought him home sooner. I should never have let him fall!"

"He fell, Odin, because his heart was broken! It was not your absence that initiated this madness it was your lies," Frigga countered more loudly. He sobbed a little as she knelt with him and sighed. "Please, my love, my king, be patient and wait for them. You must believe that the sons you sired and loved are strong enough to return to you . . . unharmed."

For the first time in his long life, Odin felt completely helpless and at a loss as to what was best to do. Even with Heimdall's powers, he didn't have all of the information he needed and he was so unused to this sensation that it was painful. Frigga seemed to be enough of a pleasant source of structure to soothe that pain for now. He embraced her more tightly and stayed silent, knelt on the floor in her arms as she stroked his head and breathed deeply. While Frigga was quite probably more terrified than Odin about the potential fates of their sons and the concept of Malekith having hold over an Othala or their powers, she had greater strength and knew that the only creature that could keep her husband a proper and poised king was her tenderness masking the torment that this uncertainty and danger were bringing her. She silently, inwardly, prayed that her words were not just empty affirmations for comfort, but that she was correct enough to be three powers shy of being an oracle. As Odin felt his heart slow and Frigga noted the centering of her husband's presence after his outburst, she realized that she had not only just served that very purpose, but that perhaps his strength might someday be enough for her to lean on in the future. A future, no doubt, that would be racked with turmoil given both their sons' propensity for having found true love, or at the very least, companionship in mortal women. At least, she thought, they were intelligent and strong women; Asgardian men needed that at all times, Odin was proof enough of that and this wasn't nearly as great a tragedy as their children would face.

(*)

While Natasha lay trying to keep calm, Sif grasped a dagger at her side cautiously and silently, readying to slay quickly the hound advancing on the two of them. Hogun and Fandral made their way towards where Volstagg was thrashing a host of dark elves, still pondering the presence of Sif and what she must've been doing. Agent Barton had made his way silently behind the hound and was ready to not only kill it, but kill the Asgardian that had allowed Natasha to be wounded. Banner knelt over both Loki and Darcy, keeping their vital signs in check and noticing that a very strange occurrence was taking place; their heartbeats and respirations were perfectly matched in every facet; depth, duration, and rate all. Stark and Rogers had been distracted when Malekith had managed to climb to the wall of weapons and cabinet of potions/spells. He wasted no time in silently hurling a surge of fire at them. Rogers hurriedly raised his shield, deflecting the flames as Stark stood unscathed, prompting a more furious growl from the elf. His resources were not as well-stocked in this room and he had no way of escaping past what he assumed would be the greatest two nuissances he had encountered from Midgard since his distant kindred. He reached behind him and grasped a potion that would become a swarm of enormous wasps. Stark dispatched them easily with a flame thrower while Malekith roared in frustration.

"You know, _**real**_ elves bake cookies, make toys, or take up a bow and arrow in the forest and prance off to the crack of doom," Stark remarked casually. Malekith sneered at him. Stark smiled. "Though I think it's pretty obvious by your sunshiny attitude that you've got a whole mine of diamonds shoved up your crack of doom."

"Any improvement, Doctor Banner?" Rogers asked as he caught his breath, having been a little caught off guard by the swarm.

"They're stable, but they're not anywhere near waking up from what I can tell," Banner replied as he checked their pulse and breaths once more. He sighed heavily and turned back to his companions who had almost effectively cornered the elf, or so they had thought. Malekith gaged precisely their movements, powers, and as best he could manage he gaged their limitations. It would be tricky without as much of his magic and without his advanced weapons or soldiers at his disposal, but it would not be impossible. Stark turned and lifted his face plate. "I don't know how much longer this is going to be."

"Well try and figure out more of what's going on, we've got his father to worry about and we still don't know how to get her somewhere safe," Rogers said sadly. Sleipnir suddenly whinnied and stomped four of his feet angrily, asserting wordlessly that he was the key to getting her to safety. The three briefly looked at the horse and then turned back to their tasks. Sleipnir then turned his gaze to Malekith and snorted furiously. Malekith frowned at the seed of Loki, knowing well how powerful and swift this creature was. Part of him thought about getting some ideas about how to enslave this beast as well, but that would have to wait. Still, it would be a magnificent feat to have the pride of Odin's stable beneath him. Rogers frowned and turned back to Malekith. "Sir, if you have any information that might be helpful to this situation, we will be sure that you are treated very well under the ramifications of the Geneva Convention in your cooperation." Malekith scoffed and looked at the soldier mockingly. "Is there anything that we can do to help them?"

"Of course," Malekith said smoothly. Rogers perked up as Stark prepared for his evil comeback with a small explosive. The elf noted this and looked directly at the device signaling to Stark that he was not going to get the elf by surprise ever again. Malekith huffed and turned to Banner. "They are trapped within the darkness that lay hidden within her soul for the moment; she fell too deeply because of the pain and hesitation in taking the power from her," he explained. Banner straightened his glasses as the elf spoke. Malekith took a step towards the two invalids and Banner. Rogers and Stark moved forward in response, ready to prevent any other damages. Malekith smirked as Banner stared back at him, unyieldingly. "They are in the darkness. Get them to go towards the light."

(*)

The verdant plains usually present in the trickster's interpretation of Darcy's open mindscape seemed dull, gray, and dead now. His heart sank at the dark sky overhead and the complete lack of signs or even a breeze. Darcy was also nowhere to be seen or heard. He called for her several times before realizing that his voice was adult, a strange notion given that she had seen him in primarily younger forms in her mind. His heart began to race a little. Was she gone within herself forever? Was she unable to be reached even here?

"Oh Darcy," Loki said sadly. He took a few steps forward and sat down on a shallow hillside. He placed a hand over his forehead. "I should never have left you to fend for yourself in this wasteland."

"Wasteland?! This is my mind, you jerk!" he suddenly heard. His heart skipped a beat and he stood quickly, turning to face the voice. Darcy stood, staring at him with more than irritation. "How dare you!"

"I didn't mean your mind, foolish girl," Loki corrected, happy enough to give small insults again. "I meant Svartalfheim itself."

"Yeah, about that," she said moving towards him. "When we get out of here, I'm going to make both halves of your body make his scarred and dark half look like a Clinique makeover!"

"The scarred and dark? Those are two different halves," Loki replied. Darcy stared at him in confusion. "Darcy, dark elves are dark; the scar Malekith bears is the pallid skin of an elf corpse."

She gasped and looked at the trickster in horror. It had never occurred to her that this creature would be even less of what she expected than ever. Loki sighed and glanced overhead as a strange flock of birds moved over them. There were several crows, ravens, owls, doves, and even a few swans. What on earth were all of those types of birds doing flying together let alone keeping the same pace? He shook himself, deciding to let the imagery and its archaic meaning come to him in due time. In the far distance he could smell the burning ground and even the traces of pools of blood that made up her dark place. That was their destination and another fluttering came to his heart for a moment. Darcy turned in the same direction, a nausea filling her at the notion of having to face the region. She had been so glad to be relieved of such horrible pain from moments before that the desolate landscape hadn't really bothered her until now. She shuddered and took a defensive step backwards, bumping into the trickster. She let out a small cry and turned, straightening her glasses. "Don't do that to me!" she shouted. Loki raised a brow and looked back at her in confusion. She had bumped into him, what was he not supposed to do to her? She sighed and clutched her chest, terrified of the thought of him probing deeper into her subconscious. She couldn't have been more vulnerable and exposed to him had she been absolutely nude each and every time he had seen her.

"We cannot go further unless you are ready to do so, it will be well-protected while you keep yourself closed off away from it," Loki said apprehensively. "You must release your fears and let more of you known."

"I have an idea, why don't you make more of you known first?" Darcy shot back indignantly.

Loki sighed heavily. "Because we are short on time."

"Time is irrelevant in dreams, Freud," she corrected.

The trickster frowned at her knowledge, having hoped that she wouldn't have been so versed in the differences between the realities. How had his brother not chosen this human after it was clear that Darcy was in every way superior? Her intuition was astoundingly accurate, her intelligence (while still limited and human) was quite impressive for her race, her lips were soft, silky, full, red pillows of gentle affection, and her breasts were more magnificent and warm than a large, welcoming bed of fresh, soft furs and he longed to take both of them into his hands and . . .

SLAP! Loki reeled backwards, holding his face as he stared back at Darcy in disbelief. "I can hear your thoughts in here you pervert!"

"I said nothing perverse!" Loki cried out defensively as he rubbed the pain away. This was proving difficult since Darcy wanted him to feel the slap and her mind was dominant here. "I commended your intellect and intuition and then your exquisite beauty."

"Forget it, you're just like every other guy on any other planet," she mumbled. "I am so not letting you into the dark part of my mind. You'll just use it as a weapon!"

"Darcy, I am tired of this façade of anger when what you truly want is to escape. Now you know the only way to do that is to conquer your darkness so accept it and lead us in the right direction," he commanded, looming over her and folding his arms sternly.

Darcy gave him a sarcastic look up and down and then gave a smug grin. "You first."

"What do you mean 'me first'? I haven't the power to get us free of this madness," he corrected.

"No, I want to see some deep, dark secret about your past," she countered. "Something you've tried to forget." As she spoke, the land nearest them sank quickly and suddenly became a large, silvery lake, Loki's eyes widened in shock as he realized that she had summoned a pool of seeing. She didn't know how to use her powers consciously, but clearly she was powerful enough for the elements to come and assist her without a single plea. He slowly moved towards the edge of the lake and knelt, then gestured for her to follow. She huffed and walked to the edge of the lake, flopping down on the ground beside him and crossing both her arms and legs, looking down at the surface of the water which, oddly, didn't seem to reflect their features at all. "Now what?"

"You summoned a pool of seeing; do you have any idea how rare that is?" he asked with stifled enthusiasm.

"Do I look like I know how rare that is?" she muttered angrily. She sighed. "But it is pretty." She turned and noted that Loki was simply staring at the pool, nothing more. She reached out and smacked his shoulder. "Well? Do something. Ask it something or chant or something."

"Very well," he said, trying to think of what to ask. If Darcy had summoned an oraculum of this kind of power, with scrye beyond what she had been trained to use, then clearly it would be able to show him things even he hadn't been able to see yet. His breath caught in his throat for a beat as a question immediately surfaced. He sighed, glancing at Darcy and then back at the pool. "Show me . . ." he said, hesitating. He had rarely shared anything of his inner workings with anyone, but this kind of delicate secret was even more dodgy. Did he really want to see it for the first time beside a human, a human that swung back and forth between hating him and pitying him? He sighed. There was no other choice if he wanted to escape, or discover the answer to this question. He breathed deeply and looked down into the pool. "Show me why I came to Asgard, show me what brought me to Odin's house."

The pool began swirling rapidly and then filling with colour. The colours danced and twirled until they formed the image of Thor; Thor lying in Frigga's arms as a very small infant. Loki looked into the reflective pool at the image of his brother, infantile, before he himself had been taken to Asgard. Frigga placed him into the arms of a servant and disappeared from the vision as the servant left the room, entering another room entirely still smiling brightly. He frowned at how wonderful and golden the realm looked particularly in stark contrast to the grays and blues around him now that would surely have been present in Jotunheim as well. The servant's features had changed in a flash and now Thor looked to be older. He saw his brother, perhaps nearly three years by human reckoning, about the age that was the same distance between them. This must have been literally days or so before he had arrived.

Thor sat holding a golden bauble and admiring it, gazing at his reflection and innocently shaking it every so often. A nursemaid was nearby watching patiently and something odd was there as well. There was another child, much older, perhaps ten years by human reckoning and certainly not the son of the nursemaid. This child, this young boy, was most certainly of the royal family and his clothing reflected it as well as his somewhat golden hair. He looked more like Frigga than even Thor appeared. Loki narrowed his eyes as the boy knelt and showed the young Thor how to roll the bauble towards him and then retrieve it as well. The nursemaid smiled as she watched them.

"Be careful, Balder, he's still quite small and delicate," the woman said kindly. "Your brother is growing, though."

"Brother?" Loki whispered in confusion.

"I'm careful," the older boy replied, smiling at the younger. The younger Thor finally stood more proudly and hurled the ball at Balder who caught it with a grunt and laughed. "He's not just getting bigger; he's getting stronger than I am!"

"Well, he certainly seems to be taking after you with each day," she laughed and stood, taking the younger Thor in her arms as Balder caught the bauble again and smiled at the two.

Loki watched, frowning, as he recognized the nursemaid. Salgi, the one usually charged with watching after him. She had been spurned by a warrior on their wedding day and offered her services of soothing to the king and queen instead. She had died when he had been only about nine years of age, of a broken heart they said. She kissed the child and stroked his head, smiling pleasantly. Loki's heart ached as he remembered the servants at home, the people that had come to be either closer than friends or bitter sources of mockery. Those like Salgi were closer than friends and he missed them terribly. Thor had told him that all of Asgard mourned . . . had the servants mourned as well? As he watched her set the younger down once more and head out of the room, he marveled at the older boy. He had never heard of Balder, never heard mention of Odin and Frigga having another son, ever. The two boys went back to playing as Darcy knelt beside him and watched carefully. She wanted to ask where the older was now, having never heard Thor mention him, but she felt it best to let the images play out silently for now. A strange sound, like a sharp crackling, moved through the room and Loki's heart began to race as the floor suddenly seemed to become covered with ice. Balder reached down and took hold of Thor immediately, hurrying over to the curtains swept back away from one of the enormous windows.

"Stay here," Balder said firmly. Thor looked at him in deep concern and held tightly to the tunic over his chest. Balder frowned and pulled his brother's hand away, staring at him sternly. "I am older; the older brother always protects the younger. Always."

"Ba-der," Thor called in an innocent voice.

Balder turned back quickly and motioned for him to be silent and stay down. Thor disappeared behind the curtain as two Jotuns appeared in the room and began looking around furiously, growling. The one smacked the other on the shoulder as he noticed Balder who had taken one of the swords off the walls and stood proudly, holding it as best he could at the tender age that had obviously been his oldest years. The larger of the two sneered at the youth as he leaned down a little. "Where's the other heir to Asgard's throne, tiny sentry?" he chided.

"There is only one heir to Asgard's throne," Balder replied sternly and lunged for the Jotun with the sword.

The Jotun frowned and caught the sword in one hand before forming a dagger of ice in the other and slamming it into the boy's side. Balder screamed and then grew as cold and silent as the floor beneath him. Loki gasped and fell forward onto his hands and knees. Darcy knelt beside him, placing both hands on him comfortingly to steady him. The younger version of Thor must've seen the display despite being hidden and Loki heard his older brother's terrified scream from the curtain as did the intruders. They stood and smirked, the larger nodding towards the curtain. As they began to move slowly towards the hidden prince, a blast of golden energy suddenly overtook them both at once. The vision shifted as Odin finished appearing behind the two. He lowered Gungnir and knelt beside his fallen son, taking him into his arms. Balder's eyes were closed peacefully and he seemed to have died without much suffering. Odin placed him back on the floor and looked around the room nearly panicking.

"Thor?" he called. He turned, looking around the room desperately. "Thor?!" He saw the pale and frightened features of his younger son appear from behind the curtain. He breathed deeply and hurried towards him as Thor noticed Balder lying on the ground. Thor moved forward towards his fallen brother, turned away from the younger who had blissfully not seen the entirety of the damage dealt to Balder as Odin had. Before the prince could move very far, Odin hurried to him and caught him in his arms, clinging tightly to him and turning him to face away from the fallen son. "It's alright, Thor. I have you."

"Ba-der?" Thor called, trying to turn and see his brother once more. Odin hurried towards the doorway, trying to keep Thor turned away from the grisly remnants of Odin's true firstborn. Thor frowned and began to lament as he realized his brother was not joining them. "Ba-der!"

"Salgi!" Odin called loudly as the doors closed behind him. The doors remained closed for a few moments with raised voices, indistinct voices, remained raised on the other side. They finally burst open and in ran Frigga who seemed more panicked than Odin had when seeking for his younger son. "Frigga, no!" Odin called after her. She screamed and knelt in front of her child, wailing as she leaned over him and placed a hand on his lifeless shoulder. Odin hurried to her side and knelt, taking her into his arms and pulling her into a tight embrace. She wept inconsolably as Odin held her, the two seated on the floor nearest what must've been the true heir to the throne. Loki grabbed his chest at this, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks at the sight of the most powerful being in all the nine realms brought to such misery and sorrow; Frigga's lamenting had never crossed his mind and hearing it now seemed too much to bear. Was this what his exile had done to her? He shook that away as Odin spoke, making an oath to console her as best he could. "The war must end, today. Laufey may have taken much of Midgard, but his time as king will end."

"He must die for this!" Frigga cried furiously.

"No," Odin corrected, pulling her to standing as she leaned into him weakly. "He will suffer for it." The vision rippled and Loki strained to see what was happening on the surface of the water or rather in the magic beneath its surface. Suddenly the cold and rather colourless landscape of Jotunheim came clear and he saw the form of Odin with Gungnir at Laufey's throat. Odin halted a moment as the sound of an infant crying caught his attention. He turned back to Laufey and glared. "Now I will take from you what you took from me," Odin hissed furiously.

Laufey remained motionless as the vision followed Odin's heated march into the temple, following the lamenting. The expression on the All-Father's face was contorted in confusion as he realized that he was not entering the palace proper, not heading for a cradle, but the cold and love-less temple where all the other relics were stored and used for their powers. Odin shoved open the enormous stone doors with a loud roar that seemed to increase the lamenting tenfold. The temple had been long rumored to have been both a place of magic and imprisonment. Mortals of great power, elves, and other powerful creatures that had been abducted and taken to Jotunheim were often bound to an altar that drew upon the Casket of Ancient Winters that would take their life-force and power, but was never kind enough to kill them. The lifeless forms of the creatures so tormented and robbed were left as icy statues in the temple itself. He glanced over at the empty casket cradle where his men had retrieved the giants' source of power and then around at the rest of the other statues, figures, and crystals that were used to draw power for the realm. Practically all of them were the enchanted creatures now siphoned for their powers and wealth of knowledge. A tear rolled down the old man's cheek at the sight of those frozen forever in this state, far beyond his help. He raised Gungnir and sent a blast of energy at them. Loki noted a look of something resembling gratitude as Darcy gasped. In a flash, the relics, the living shells of creatures that once were, all disintegrated in a spray of gold and gratefulness.

He sighed heavily, still hearing the cries, and began to look around furiously. His eyes fell on an altar and Loki felt even through the vision as the man's heart sank. Upon an altar, the very altar used to take the full life force from the creatures he had freed, was an infant. Not just any infant, a Jotun child. He approached carefully and a swell of pity moved through him. Laufey's son, it had to have been given his markings and the uncomfortable gleam in Laufey's expression when the lamenting had begun. Odin looked down at the altar sadly. This child had been born with great power indeed, so much power that Laufey had wanted to take it for his own instead of bestowing any favor, lavishing any love and training on his child. The spell meant to take all outward life was working slowly on so powerful and native a creature, but it had stunted his size tremendously; so much so, that now the baby appeared to be Asgardian in size and not Jotun at all. Loki felt an enormous tear stream down the side of his face remembering his words to his father . . . another stolen relic he had said. It was clear now that he had been spared from being a relic in Odin's theft, a terrible fate indeed. The All-Father quickly took the infant into his arms, stroking his blue features with tenderness. As the infant looked up at the warm creature with confusion, affection slowly moved through him and warmth as well. In an instant, the powerful infant began to imitate the look of his rescuer; the only show of gratitude he knew. Odin smiled kindly and reached down, gently placing a kiss on the boy's brow and speaking softly.

"You've done nothing deserving of your father's fate, little one," he said softly. He slowly removed his own cloak and wrapped the child gently in it as the infant Loki seemed to settle comfortably in his new father's arms. Odin turned back to the altar, disdain and ferocity formed on his features at the sight of such a torturous device. He took Gungnir in one hand and destroyed what he could of it. The Jotuns could rebuild it, but not without significant time and the Casket of Ancient Winters. Several Asgardian soldiers poured in, bowing to their king, and noting the bundle in his arms. He smiled and looked at them firmly. "From this day forward, this is my son. He is a prince of Asgard and heir with his brother, Thor. Nothing shall revoke his birthright and he is to be afforded all the love and respect as is befitting his title and my bloodline."

Loki watched Odin clutch him all the tighter to him as he moved out of the temple, purposefully walking back towards Laufey and repeating the speech more loudly. Laufey's face twisted in anger at this, but Loki could see no remorse, no disdain for an enemy taking a precious member of his family. A larger set of tears streamed down the trickster's face as Darcy clutched his shoulders. Yes, he had been another relic . . . but not to Asgard. He reached up and clutched her hand tightly as the vision shifted once more. Odin had not allowed the child to be taken from his arms as he had entered the healing room, not allowed another to take hold of him at all until Frigga came to join him. He carefully placed the baby in her arms and she seemed to accept him as gently and proudly as one of her own, gazing down into his already verdant eyes with tremendous maternal affection. She laughed and clutched both her husband and new child to her tightly.

"What shall we call him?" she asked softly.

"I was hoping you might have the best idea," Odin replied, reaching out one hand and stroking the boy's head. Frigga smiled and situated him comfortably in her arms as he yawned and settled down to sleep in the most wonderful place he had known since birth. Loki felt a strong ache in his heart at the thought of Frigga's embrace, her warmth and the smell of her pleasantness. How terribly he missed his mother, the only mother he had ever known. "He was to seal their monstrous fate, to complete their powers and plunge the realms into darkness."

"And yet he will bring us hope, bring us the light that was taken from us . . . for Balder's life so snuffed out and cruelly undone as his would've been," Frigga said softly, stroking the child's face. She sighed. "He should be named for the light he will bring our realm and end our grief . . . Loki, the bearer of light."

"Loki," Odin repeated as the child suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at his new family responding to his family's new title. A grin crossed his tiny features and he laughed for the first time in their presence. Frigga and Odin laughed as well, the first time since the loss of Balder. The infant yawned once more and all three pulled one another into a tight embrace as the vision faded entirely from his view.

"Whoa," Darcy whispered. Loki gripped her hand more tightly and drew in a sharp breath.

"No more than another stolen relic," he muttered. "Left to die; abandoned to suffer the fates of sages and elves of centuries past; bereft of their gifts and life until naught but a weary shell remained."

"That's what that thing was for? It didn't look like a changing table even for a giant," Darcy observed innocently.

Loki smirked and turned to her, gripping her hand. "It changed creatures, yes, but not as you are thinking," he remarked. she stared at him in confusion. "Odin could've left me . . . without the casket . . . to wither and die."

"Who, your father? No, he couldn't do that, he loves you, from what I saw just now he was so fond of you he hesitated handing you over to your mom," Darcy offered, gesturing towards the pool once more. "That was pretty weird, too. How did you get kidnapped like that with all those guards watching?"

"You truly are a simple minded mortal," he laughed. Darcy folded her arms and glared at him. He smirked and patted her shoulder. "Do you forget I was adopted? My father was the creature Odin spared . . ." he said trailing off. "As was I."

"Well, it looked like you were already part of the family to me," Darcy replied with a shrug. "Your mom was awfully accepting for someone still mourning the loss of her firstborn."

Loki smiled more brightly. "She was always a deep fountain of love, a veritable host of compassion," he said wistfully.

Darcy looked back at him in concern and then sighed. She smacked the surface of the water, satisfied that he had shared something so personal, "Well," she muttered as she began to wring her hands anxiously. "I guess we better get going."

"You are sure you are ready for this?" Loki asked carefully.

Darcy smirked and stood, turning back towards the horizon that seemed to be covered by a veil of ash. She stood more upright, gathering strength. "As ready as I'll ever be."


	46. In The Dark Dark

**Chapter 46: In the Dark Dark**

While overhead there began to be a small struggle between Malekith trying to call upon his forces (particularly the fallen guards who were perfect for battle and the preferred members of Malekith's forces in hard battle), Fandral, joined by Hogun and now Volstagg, defeated all but one of the hounds. The last hound was making its way hungrily towards the bloodied Natasha and her protector, Sif, as Agent Barton finished his task quickly and hurried to locate his fallen comrade. This was all unnoticed by Loki and Darcy, of course, who now walked towards the eerily darkening horizon. To his surprise, Darcy suddenly took hold of Loki's arm and gripped it tightly, burying her face in his sleeve and shuddering madly. He looked down at her in confusion and gasped at seeing that, while he might've been in either his proper adult form or something close to it, Darcy now seemed to be much younger. Twelve years by human reckoning perhaps. _This must've been the last age at which she faced this nightmare head on_, he thought. He firmly took hold of her shoulders and pulled her away, forcing her to look up at him with his stern gaze.

"Now we'll have none of that simpering, female nonsense while we're here. We are presently facing the darkest part of human understanding and memory which is one of the most terrifying places in the universes. I have no time for molly-coddling and you have no time for such displays, am I clear?" he asked firmly, hoping that acting in this manner would snap her back into her almost fearless self from before. This was, after all, the mortal that had thought nothing about prancing off the edge of a cliff. She sobbed a little and rubbed her eyes, nodding in agreement. He sighed and stood upright, looking ahead and muttering 'good girl'. Suddenly, he felt a sharp and unyielding pain in his shin and looked down in time to see Darcy withdraw her foot, folding her arms and glaring at him. "What in the nine realms was that for?"

"I was afraid for a minute and you turned into a complete tool!" she shot back. He stared at her in bewilderment, partly out of not understanding her wording and mostly out of not seeing what he did as being in any way out of line. She huffed and moved past him. He followed after, shaking the leg lightly every so often to shuffle off the pain she had inflicted. "That was nothing compared to whatever he was doing to me. It felt like he was using my abdomen as a Voodoo doll and putting all the pins, all at once, in one place . . . and then setting them on fire!"

"Dark Faerie Magic is never pleasant for humans," Loki added with a shake of his head. He reached out, close enough to do so, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "The pain is gone, hasn't it? You feel it no longer?"

She rubbed the back of her head, seeming to age a little and return to her proper form when distracted from the fear. "Yeah, it stopped," she said softly. She turned and gave a slight smile. "I'm just going to go out on a limb here and guess that it was your doing," she said inquisitively. He gave a precocious smirk and the two seemed an odd, smiling pair as they embraced beneath the falling ash. The sign that read 'Welcome to Silent Hill' had been nowhere in sight, but the trademark air filled with grey, acidic ash was present around them. Loki felt a sense of greater strength, greater strength than he had ever felt, as she embraced him gratefully. The two remained in their distracted embrace until the sound of formal marching came to them. Darcy stiffened and looked past the trickster. "Oh no," she whispered. Before Loki could speak, she grabbed his hand and pulled him behind a stack of battered crates, hiding as a group of men, women, or some sort of humanoid, came marching around the corner in black robes with strange silver symbols hung about their necks. "It's the Cult of Silent Hill. If they catch us, they'll kill us . . . in the worst possible way."

"Then this is the way to defeat the darkness," Loki rationalized. Darcy began to protest, but Loki boldly pulled away from her and darted out in front of the group who immediately halted, their hoods covering their heads and possibly the decaying or deformed features beneath them. At least Darcy's mind was good at trying to keep terrifying images from greeting him even in its dark place, he thought. He cleared his throat and stood sternly. "I am Loki of Asgard, and I have come to put an end to the darkness and redeem Darcy Lewis from its stranglehold once and for all," he stated proudly. His heart sank as the foremost robed figure chuckled softly.

"What a coincidence," the hooded man said in a smooth, higher pitched, and very enticing voice said. He took a step forward along with two other robed figures. Loki watched cautiously as they removed their hoods, revealing beautiful masculine features with very, very pale skin. "We are the last line of defense against entering the Dark Place. Why should we consider allowing you to pass?"

"What the heck?" Darcy whispered loudly from behind the crates. Loki heard it, but there were no signs and nothing in her mind to tell him that she was terribly confused as to why The Volturi were guarding her Dark Place and trying to keep people out. The group's attention seemed to flicker towards her for a beat, their heads turning in one direction simultaneously and then back to Loki. Loki then heard Darcy's thoughts, all of them, and turned, looking at her reproachfully through the crates. What? I don't have a slight crush on the Volturi; I'm not attracted to them as guardians . . . any of them, she thought defensively.

Loki shook his head and turned back to the group. "You cannot stop, me," he said in nearly a whisper, his bravery growing with each moment. "I am Loki, my very name means the bringer of light; I will not leave this place without purging it of the nightmares being used to control such a lovely creature."

The central hooded figure, that Darcy recognized as Aro, stepped forward and smiled wickedly at the trickster. "I will not stand in your way, Loki, I simply lead the last line of defense and if you think that you can move past us to retrieve her, then by all means," he said in a disturbingly smooth tone. He gestured towards where the rest of the dingy, darkened town had now materialized. "Do so."

"Very well," Loki said. He noticed that one of the other hooded characters, a young girl with blonde hair and piercing eyes, stepped to the side of the alpha male, her expression rank with hatred and also deepened sadness. Clearly something about this place was as connected to her as it was to Darcy, or rather vice versa given that Darcy truly existed where these creatures did not. He kept his gaze with her and watched in stunned silence as a single tear rolled down the side of the girl's cheek. His heart ached and he stepped forward, drawing in a sharp breath as a he did so. The rest of the guard seemed to dissipate into nothing but black and gray air, swirling around the girl as another tear fell and then disappearing entirely. Loki was unsure of what to say, but he was not almost entirely sure that this child that had accompanied the guard was a significant part of Darcy, that much he had learned in the dream world. He reached out of her uneasily. "Who are you?"

Before the girl could answer, a loud, blood-curdling scream came from behind the crates. As Loki turned he saw the pile of old wood and nails burst into flames. His heart raced and he bolted towards it. "Darcy!" he shouted, diving for the flames. He grunted in pain as he pulled away several fiery crates with his bare hands. They seemed to melt, fire and all, into nothing but ash and soon there was nothing left of the pile leaving Darcy nowhere to be seen with her scream still ringing madly in his ears. "Darcy? Darcy, where are you?!" he shouted frantically, beginning to sift through the ash, He furiously pawed at the dust and remnants of burned wood until a loud creaking sound distracted him.

A large sign, something he had come to expect, but not to this magnitude, suddenly rose from the ground. It was the very same sign that he had seen at the entrance to her dark place before; large wooden panel on two metal posts with only two lights dangling over its worn writing. His stomach lurched forward as blood dripped from it. 'Welcome to Silent Hill' had another word painted on it in what must've been fresh blood. He recognized the scent and it dripped from the wood unnaturally, forming the word: Massacre. He covered his mouth for a moment and then suddenly realized that he had left the girl standing behind him. Had that been Darcy all along and she had taken a different form? He turned and his heart twisted again in strained confusion mingled with fear as he noted that the pale-skinned, red-eyed, black robed girl had been replaced by a dark-haired child. She was much younger and in a school girl's uniform, looking at him sadly with ash staining her beautiful features. Please let this be some strange form of Darcy in her own mind, he thought as he took a step towards her. To his surprise, she stepped backwards, away, and looked at him apprehensively.

"Don't be frightened," he said, just in case this form of whatever Darcy was taking had no recollection of him due to some blissful embodiment of innocence. Tears began to stream from her eyes as well. Loki frowned. "Why are you crying, little one?" he asked.

The girl pointed towards the town and then sobbingly said, "It's too late. She's already at the church and the darkness is coming," she explained through sobs. Loki looked at her in dread. This was not a form of Darcy, but this girl was clearly speaking about her. The sobbing suddenly ceased and the girl's eyes began to glow as she took a step towards him. "Reveal him, only then will you be able to defeat him," she said in a somber and strange tone.

"What?" Loki asked in utter confusion.

The same sirens that had interrupted the dream that Malekith had created began to sound again. Loki groaned at their sickening, piercing din. The girl covered her ears and began to sob again, a strange glow forming around her. Loki's heart began to race, knowing that he had precious little time left to find out from this figure properly where Darcy was and what to do. She had mentioned the church, she had mentioned revealing someone, but that couldn't have been all. Even for Darcy that was far too cryptic. The little girl looked up at him, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face as she shouted over the sirens. "The darkness is coming! Run! Go to the church and find her!"

"What do I do then?" he asked frantically. "How do I keep us both from dying in here?"

"You won't die here, Loki," the girl replied, the strange glow increasing. Suddenly, the glow became full on flames that engulfed the girl as she began to strangely smile innocently at him, folding her hands behind her back coquettishly and looking at him as if he were some sort of handsome prince and not a hero in distress. Horror filled his features as the flames continued engulfing her and flesh in small places began to drip away from her body with the appropriate and nauseating smell going along with it. "You won't die here Loki," she repeated with an evil giggle. The trickster's heart sank and he realized he could hear her normal speaking even over the sirens. "But she might. Everything here burns, Loki. Everything here burns . . . and screams."

With that, the flames engulfed the girl entirely and she let out a magnificent scream that mingled with one in the distance . . . Darcy's. Loki turned and made haste for the center of town. A church . . . human churches often had steeples with crosses to honor the savior and the manner of death that had been endured on their behalf. He panted heavily as he ran haphazardly through the town. It was not unlike the wreckage he had left in Manhattan save for the foul stench of burning rubber, flesh, and scorched earth soaked in blood. He followed the screams, trying to shout to Darcy in her direction that he was coming and that he was near, but for whatever reason, he seemed to have lost his voice entirely. He heard the same evil giggle from the girl before as he stopped for a moment in the streets to catch his breath. He had never been so out of breath before, but the ash in the air made it so hard to breathe at all. As he turned, he saw the girl, flames still licking around her extremities. She grinned wickedly and held up one hand, a flame forming on top of it that made the sounds, the very shouting, that he had been doing. His eyes strained in terror and he turned, hurrying back towards the building with the steeple away from the grotesque child and her awful feats of whatever magic this was.

The trickster halted in front of a huilding that must have been the church. A large, iron steeple lay at the top, but the cross here seemed odd. Instead of a proper cross, a circular cross took its place. He recognized it from human history when Pagans, Druids, and far more sinister faiths in evil would immolate a victim. Human sacrifice was merciful among the Pagans and Druids by comparison to counterparts across the world. He stifled vomit at remembering the sight of the evil little girl on fire. Had she been an unfortunate victim of such cruelty? That would hardly make this place a church at all; nevertheless, he could hear Darcy's screams fading behind the doors. The sky flashed overhead and the memory that his father's sorcerers were also hard at work suddenly came to him. Overwhelmed with duty and frustration, Loki growled and, with inexplicable strength, kicked down the doors to the church. He dropped to his knees for a moment in sickened horror. Lining the walls were the bodies of immolated victims on similar circles with flesh worn away cruelly by flame and blood covering the floor in pools beneath them. He groaned sickly until he heard Darcy scream once more. That was his goal, he told himself, he had to focus on her. He hurried forward towards the very back of the church where normally truth would've been given on a weekly basis from a holy man. Loki gasped at what he saw instead.

"No! Help, help me!" Darcy screamed. At least, this must have been Darcy. She had all the features and the feel of her from a distance, but she couldn't have been much older than the evil, flaming girl that may or may not have still been following him. Attacking her, trying to take hold of her limbs and pin her down for some nefarious act, was a gruesome man. Loki knew it was a man, though it had no face. Its muscular body was clad only in a bloodied smock and a large metal triangle, red, and very much shaped like a pyramid, took the place of his head. He groaned and almost seemed to be enjoying his grisly work. Loki saw the innocent, child-like Darcy struggling beneath this creature. He knew in the back of his mind that he had been guilty in some small way after all of his machinations of something similar, but he put that aside. He would never willingly harm a child. Fires began to shoot up and around the already dangling bodies in the church making Loki feel all the more ill as screams and scents too foul to describe began to fill the air. Reveal him, he remembered. "Help, please! Someone, help me! Anyone, someone, help me!"

Loki gathered all his might and lunged forward, taking the creature by the shoulders and tumbling to the side with it. The creature shrieked angrily and tried to land a solid blow with a fist into the trickster's skull. Loki dodged the hit and furiously kicked upward into the smock. The creature yelped and crumpled forward, giving Loki enough time to crawl out from under it properly and take his kneecap, forcing it harshly forward into the creature's gut. The form of Darcy that had been under attack was now sobbing madly, the evil girl on the other side of the room, watching the display, simply stared in stunned silence while Darcy sat upright. Loki turned. How was he to reveal this creature? _It's face_, he thought. _Perhaps Darcy had never seen the face of the one that caused the darkness and kept it so powerful in her mind_. He reached out as the creature continued reeling from the unexpected blows dealt by a half-Jotun, and took hold of the metal on the pyramid covering its head. The creature shouted angrily and began swinging its arms in every direction, trying to force the trickster away. Loki deftly dodged each attempt and, curling his pale fingers into the metal with only minimal cuts forming on his knuckles, he pried open the red metal and tore the pyramid in half, throwing either side to the floor. He stared triumphantly, breathing deeply at the face of a scarred, middle-aged man, who quickly covered his face.

In unison, the evil girl still ablaze and Darcy both let out screams louder than Loki had ever heard before. The scarred man shouted angrily and then began to sob. He turned, scrambled to get to his feet, and ran towards the evil child. To Loki's surprise, the evil child, gathered all her flame and hurled it at the man, setting him ablaze. He shrieked and, consumed by the fire, melted into the floor, leaving the little girl looking innocent and saddened once more. Loki ignored any further images of this sort and hurried to Darcy's side. The scream stopped just as he arrived, kneeling, and she promptly fell backwards, eyes closed in unconsciousness. Loki cried out in fright. Had he been too late? He quickly took the child form of Darcy into his arms, ignoring the rest of the screams and odors as he stood. There was blood on the front of her dress leading downward and Loki's heart twisted in agony at realizing that this was not a smudge left by the attacker's bloody attire. Suddenly, the earth beneath them began to tremble. Loki looked around them, dread filling him.

He suddenly felt a tug at his tunic and looked down to see the now innocent-looking girl once more staring up at him desperately. "We have to hurry," she said frantically. "You have to get her to the hospital!"

"How?!" Loki demanded as the building's ceiling began to crumble; bits of stone and wood falling every few seconds. The girl whimpered and then turned towards a large, stained glass window with a large blooming red lily in the hand of a small child. "That way!"

Not wanting to argue after such horrific images and still clinging to the young and lifeless form of Darcy, Loki followed the girl. He looked down for a beat, trying to determine if she was still breathing and if the blood was still coursing from her or if it had ceased. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized he could tell neither at the moment. The girl stopped in front of the window and looked up at him. "You first. Jump," she instructed.

"Are you mad?!" Loki asked, feeling a little silly for asking a girl that had once been on fire about her sanity. The building began to crumble all the more; charred mortar crumbling as metal warped, burying the screaming, bleeding corpses on the walls in a mass grave of holy stone and steel. He turned back to the window and drew in a deep breath. He turned around backwards and placed Darcy's face carefully against his chest, covering all of her visage with his clothing as he closed his eyes. He thrust himself upwards and backwards, slamming his firm body against the window and smashing it, then falling. He expected to land uncomfortably on both glass and burning asphalt surrounding the church, but to his relief, the town that had been around them before seemed to have disappeared. He stared around in almost complete comfort at the sight of the flat, open plain once more, still shrouded by a darkened sky. A flash of lightning made him jump and, much to his dismay, the young form of Darcy didn't respond at all. He had to get her to whatever symbol of help was needed next as quickly as he could. He turned as another bolt of lightning made him jump and found himself standing before an enormous white building. At its top, the red lily in bloom that had been on the window was displayed proudly above the words Kingdom Hospital. The trickster stared at it in disbelief. He hadn't even felt the ground move; how had this enormous structure just popped up when a simple sign caused the earth to shift. He felt the other girl at his side again, pulling at his sleeve this time. She nodded towards the hospital's entrance.

"It's the only way out of the dark place," she said sadly. "Hospitals are where people go to get better, after all," she explained. He nodded as they began moving forward. This was all too strange, too disturbing even for him. He clutched the lifeless Darcy all the closer to him as the girl pushed open a door. "People get better here . . ." she repeated, ". . . or they get to go to their eternal rest."

Loki froze and now tried more than ever desperately to find a heartbeat in Darcy and feel for breath. To his dismay, the blood had continued to pour from her, though in a much smaller amount. He hissed and growled angrily at her for being so weak as the other girl led them past nurses frozen in time and doctors quantum locked in time and space as well. The growling and hissing turned to sobs of remorse for every ounce of cruelty he had ever visited on her as the other girl led the way to a patient's room. She motioned for him to put her on the bed which he reluctantly did, wiping away a few tears angrily. "What do you expect me to do now?" he whispered harshly, the anger aimed at Darcy but meant for himself. "How am I to undo this?!"

The other girl moved to his side and reached into a pocket at his side. He looked down at her, confused that she was not only still there, but also that she knew exactly where to reach to withdraw the item that she now held aloft for him. He stared down at it for a beat before taking it, noticing that the settings had changed to different readings. "That's what worked the first time," the other girl explained. Loki looked down at her for a moment and then back at Darcy before more firmly gripping the taser the girl had handed him. The other girl gave a slight smile. "That's what worked the first time."

(*)

Stark, Banner, and Rogers had been joined recently by Thor who had began to bludgeon Malekith for whatever he had done to both Darcy and Loki. Thor had been a little more than confused and taken aback when he had heard that Rogers had hit Loki upon request, but the explanation from Banner briefly about how he had needed to reach her in dreams somehow seemed to make more sense to the Asgardian than anyone else, except perhaps the seething Malekith. Thor moved to his brother's side and knelt. He reached down and affectionately touched the side of the trickster's head, watching as a few tears streamed down from his twitching, unconscious eyes. Thor wiped them away and sighed heavily.

"Hurry with your task, brother," he said. "Father will not be patient."

"Time's not an issue for him," Stark interjected with a smug grin. All eyes turned to him. "Time and all that exists for us, is different in dreams. For all we known it could've been years in their minds," he rationalized, which Banner acknowledged. "Besides, even in dreams she still has that taser," Stark replied with a wink. "She knows what she's doing, too."


End file.
